Rubio: Russia and Ukraine interested in limited energy and grain ceasefire

Russia and Ukraine have both expressed interest in a limited ceasefire concerning energy and grain. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this today, according to Reuters, after meeting a Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's general debate. On Tuesday, US and Ukrainian presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met at the UN in New York. Zelenskyy subsequently said that Ukraine would accept an energy ceasefire.

Trump has been seeking to broker a peaceful resolution to the war since returning to the White House in January last year. The war was unleashed by Russian President Vladimir Putin when he ordered the Russian army to invade Ukraine in February 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since the end of World War II. Despite US diplomatic efforts, however, no breakthrough has yet been made.

The US president recently urged Ukraine to stop attacking refineries in Russia, saying this harms the entire world. Trump then announced an energy ceasefire, under which neither Ukraine nor Russia would attack energy targets. Neither country has confirmed that such an agreement was actually reached. However, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukraine was ready to take such a step. Rubio said today that Russia is also showing interest in an energy ceasefire.

According to Rubio, Russia and Ukraine are also interested in a grain ceasefire. Speaking today at the so-called Crimea Platform on the sidelines of the UN, Zelenskyy said, according to Reuters, that Ukraine was also ready for a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea based on proposals by Egypt, India and Turkey. The purpose of such a ceasefire would be to ensure commercial shipping in the Black Sea, including grain exports. "We are waiting for Russia's response. Ukraine is ready," Zelenskyy said.

Rubio, who met Lavrov today, said after the talks that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept an invitation to the G20 summit in Florida in December. According to Rubio, Putin's attendance would provide an opportunity for talks between Trump and the Russian president. The Russian president last attended a G20 summit in 2019; he missed subsequent summits first because of the Covid-19 pandemic and later because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.