Beirut, 24 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Mediators from the United States will hold separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian teams in Saudi Arabia on Monday, as Washington seeks to broker a limited ceasefire after more than three years of fighting.

US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg described the indirect talks as "shuttle diplomacy," with the US delegation moving between the two sides as they meet in "separate rooms."

"You basically say, 'OK. What are your terms?' And you go to the other side, 'What are your terms?'" Kellogg told conservative commentator Glenn Beck in an interview at the weekend.

Ahead of the three-way meeting, Ukrainian representatives met with the US delegation for a preliminary round of talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday.

A key focus of the negotiations is securing a halt to strikes on energy facilities. Both Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to this partial truce, but it has yet to be implemented.

The US is also pushing to extend the ceasefire to shipping routes in the Black Sea.

Steve Witkoff, another US special envoy, told Fox News on Sunday: "I think that you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire ... from that, you'll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire."

US President Donald Trump, who recently spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, continues to express optimism about a quick end to the war.

Zelensky has endorsed Trump's plan for a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire. However, Putin has set several preconditions, including a demand that the West halt all military aid to Kiev.

The US delegation in Saudi Arabia will include multiple teams, with both Kellogg and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz present.

Ukraine's chief negotiator, Andrii Yermak, is also travelling to Saudi Arabia, while Russia will be represented by career diplomat Grigory Karasin and Sergey Beseda, a senior intelligence official and close confidant of Putin.

Photo: MIA archive