MOSCOW, March 23: The Kremlin on Sunday downplayed expectations for a rapid resolution to the Ukraine conflict, saying talks were just beginning and that "difficult negotiations" were ahead.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to hold separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia over the next 48 hours as President Donald Trump pushes for a rapid end to more than three years of fighting.
"We are only at the beginning of this path," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.
Kremlin denies three-way US-Ukraine-Russia talks in preparation
He said there were many outstanding "questions" and "nuances" over how a potential ceasefire might be implemented.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, proposing instead to halt attacks only on energy facilities.
"There are difficult negotiations ahead," Peskov said in the interview, published on social media.
He also said Russia's "main" focus in its talks with the United States would be discussing a possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal that ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian agricultural exports in the Black Sea.
"On Monday we mainly intend to discuss President Putin's agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem," Peskov said.
Moscow pulled out of the deal -- brokered by Turkey and the United Nations -- in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia's own exports of agricultural products and fertilisers.
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