Rubio says US will evaluate Russian demands for Black Sea ceasefire

By Humeyra Pamuk

KINGSTON (Reuters) - The United States will evaluate demands made by Russia after Moscow had agreed "in principle" to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea to allow safe navigation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.

The U.S. announced separate Black Sea agreements with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday - following talks in Saudi Arabia - to ensure safe navigation, stop attacks, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. U.S. President Donald Trump - who took office on January 20 - has been pushing for an end to the war amid a rapid U.S. rapprochement with Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv and European allies.

"After our meeting (in Saudi Arabia) ... the Russians detailed a number of conditions that they want to see met in order to do that, so we're going to evaluate that," Rubio told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to Jamaica.

He said U.S. officials would work to "more fully understand what the Russian position is, or what they're asking in exchange, and then we'll present that to the President (Trump)" and make a decision about the next step.

Russia's demands are well-known. The conditions listed in a statement by the Kremlin on Tuesday - including the lifting of restrictions and sanctions on a major agricultural bank, exporters of food and fertilizer and on Russian vessels - largely mirror demands made by Moscow two years ago during talks to extend a Black Sea deal first agreed in July 2022.

RUSSIAN DEMANDS

The 2022 deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to allow the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain. Under an accompanying three-year pact, the U.N. agreed to help facilitate Russia's food and fertilizer exports.

Russia quit the Black Sea deal in July 2023, complaining that demands related to its food and fertilizer exports had not been met. U.N. officials have continued to work with Russia to try and address its export concerns.

In a letter to the U.N. in March 2023, Russia said it wanted the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) reconnected to the SWIFT payments system. The bank was cut off from SWIFT by the European Union in June 2022.

Russia also said it wanted a resumption of supplies to Russia of agricultural machinery and spare parts; lifting restrictions on insurance and access to ports for Russian ships and cargo; and unblocking accounts and financial activities of Russian fertilizer companies.

While Russian exports of food and fertiliser are not subject to Western sanctions, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments.

Rubio noted on Wednesday that Russia's demands involved the lifting of some EU sanctions. The European Commission said on Wednesday that the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine would be one of the main conditions to lift or amend sanctions.

After U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday that as part of a ceasefire deal it had agreed to "help restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions."

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Franklin Paul and Stephen Coates)