Prolonged Peace Negotiations Expected as Russian Official Signals Timeline Extending to 2026

Discussions between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia earlier this week did not result in significant advancements regarding peace talks over Ukraine and may extend into next year, according to Russian negotiator Grigory Karasin.

The marathon 12-hour talks in Riyadh, which took place on Monday, “haven’t produced any substantial breakthrough at this stage, but there are possibilities,” Karasin mentioned during an interview with the state-owned network Rossiya 24.

“It would have been unrealistic to anticipate any breakthroughs,” remarked Karasin, a former diplomat and a current member of the upper house of the Federation Council.

He noted that the agenda included discussions on safe navigation in the Black Sea and the potential for some Russian banks to regain access to the SWIFT international payment system.

Karasin asserted that the U.S. representatives, including senior National Security Council official Andrew Peek and State Department policy planning head Michael Anton, initially put forward “proposals that were unacceptable to Russia.”

“However, I believe they soon recognized that a team of rational and civil interlocutors was present,” he added, characterizing the environment of the negotiations as positive despite the lack of concrete outcomes.

Karasin expressed his belief that U.S.-Russian dialogues regarding Ukraine are likely to persist until at least the end of 2025 or longer.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that advancements in technical talks rely on Russia’s actions before any high-level discussions can proceed.

The White House had initially reported on Tuesday that both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea. Yet, Moscow later listed a range of conditions, including the lifting of sanctions, that must be satisfied before the ceasefire can be enacted.

On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin indicated that the Russian military was nearing the completion of operations against Ukrainian forces and proposed placing Ukraine under a UN-endorsed “temporary administration” prior to finalizing any peace agreement.