The 2025 Ceasefire Push: Jeddah, Energy and the Black Sea
The first major ceasefire proposal of 2025 looked simple on paper: Russia and Ukraine would stop fighting for 30 days, then use the pause to negotiate. The simplicity disappeared as soon as each side had to agree on when, where, and under what conditions the shooting would stop.
The process moved through Saudi Arabia because the United States negotiated with Ukraine and Russia separately. It produced several announcements, but never the comprehensive ceasefire Washington initially proposed.
Ukraine Accepts in Jeddah
American and Ukrainian delegations met in Jeddah on March 11 after the damaging Oval Office confrontation and a U.S. pause in aid and intelligence. Ukraine said it was ready for an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire across the front, provided Russia accepted and implemented the same terms concurrently.
The proposal could be extended by mutual agreement and was meant to open space for negotiations. Washington restored military assistance and intelligence sharing, then took the offer to Moscow.
Vladimir Putin did not accept an unconditional general ceasefire. He said he supported the idea in principle but raised questions about Ukrainian mobilisation, weapons deliveries, monitoring, and whether Ukraine might use the pause to regroup.
A Narrower Energy Moratorium
During a March 18 call with Trump, Putin agreed to a 30-day halt on attacks against energy infrastructure. Ukraine said it would observe the same restriction after speaking with the U.S. president the following day.
Even this narrower measure lacked a jointly signed text and clear independent monitor. Russia later published a list covering oil and gas facilities, electricity generation and transmission, nuclear sites, hydropower dams, and related infrastructure.
The parties disagreed over the starting date and accused each other of violations. Damage could also be difficult to classify when attacks struck near mixed civilian, energy, logistical, and military facilities or when falling debris caused the harm.
The Black Sea Talks
U.S. teams met Ukrainian and Russian delegations separately in Riyadh from March 23 to 25. The White House announced understandings to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent commercial vessels from being used for military purposes in the Black Sea.
The U.S.-Ukraine statement treated these as steps toward a durable peace and also addressed prisoner exchanges, civilian detainees, and transferred children. Ukraine warned that movement by Russian warships beyond the eastern Black Sea would be regarded as a threat and preserve its right of self-defence.
Russia attached conditions not stated in the same way by Washington or Kyiv. It said the maritime arrangement would take effect only after sanctions and financial restrictions affecting Russian agricultural exports were eased, including reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to payment systems.
Many of those measures depended on the European Union, which had not agreed to remove them. Ukraine rejected sanctions relief as a precondition for Russia to stop using force against shipping.
Why No Full Ceasefire Followed
The negotiations never resolved sequencing. Ukraine and the United States treated Russian reciprocity as the next step after Kyiv accepted the 30-day proposal; Russia sought concessions and guarantees before stopping the wider war.
There was also no trusted enforcement mechanism. A ceasefire needs agreed maps, definitions, reporting channels, attribution procedures, and consequences for violations, especially when drones and missiles can cross hundreds of kilometres.
Fighting continued on the front, and long-range attacks continued beyond the disputed energy category. Each new strike reinforced the argument that the other side was using diplomacy for advantage rather than preparing to stop.
The Saudi talks were not meaningless: they clarified positions and created technical contact. Their actual result was much narrower than the headline goal—an accepted Ukrainian offer for a full pause, a limited and contested energy understanding, and a Black Sea proposal that never overcame Russia's sanctions conditions.
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