The US is beginning to understand that Russia is always trying to rewrite the results of negotiations – Zhovkva

In an interview with Ukrinform during technical consultations held in Saudi Arabia on March 24-25, Zhovkva clarified the differences in the final statements.

“The difference in the final statements comes down to one thing – Russia always distorts the facts and tries to change the results of the negotiations. I believe that the US is beginning to realize this. Indeed, after technical consultations, two statements were published: Ukrainian-American and American-Russian, which were almost 100% identical, except for one point. However, soon after that, Russia released its version of the agreements, which was completely different from both the American and Ukrainian interpretations,” Zhovkva noted.

He stressed that it is not enough to simply acknowledge Russia's attempts to violate ceasefire agreements on maritime security and energy infrastructure – concrete actions are needed.

“If the world, including the US, witnesses a violation of the partial ceasefire – because Ukraine is not going to violate it – they should react decisively. Instead of even theoretically discussing a possible easing of sanctions, as Russia insists on, they should focus on tightening sectoral sanctions, including measures against Russia's “shadow fleet”, etc.,” he added.

Read also: Russians in the Rada refused to discuss stopping strikes on civilian infrastructure – Zhovkva

The next few days will be critical to determining the credibility of any agreements with Russia, Zhovkva said.

“If, for example, a Ukrainian port or energy infrastructure is shelled today, this will be a real indicator of Russia’s commitment to any agreements,” he assured.

During the meeting in Radha, Ukraine and the United States reached five key results, including ensuring safe navigation in the Black Sea, prohibiting attacks on energy infrastructure in both Ukraine and Russia, and continuing to work on prisoner exchanges and the return of children abducted by Russia.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine