Ukrainian and Russian delegations will not interact directly during the March 24 talks in Saudi Arabia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on March 21 during a press briefing in Kyiv.
Tykhyi's statement came as Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg announced that the U.S. plans to hold indirect talks between Moscow and Kyiv in Saudi Arabia, with Russian and Ukrainian representatives present in separate rooms.
Ukraine does not know what format the U.S. will use to negotiate with Russia in Riyadh, Tykhyi said.
"This is their choice. But we are preparing for the talks in Saudi Arabia as bilateral Ukrainian-American ones," the spokesperson said.
Ukraine is preparing for a technical but not a political round of negotiations with the U.S., according to Tykhyi.
"There will be a meeting of professional people from the Ukrainian and American sides who can figure out all the details of how (a ceasefire) should look. We need to understand how it will work, who will control it, how it will be monitored," he said.
Tykhyi added that Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha will not participate in the next round of talks.
The upcoming Russia-U.S. consultations in Riyadh will include Russian officials Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
The Ukrainian representatives have not yet been officially announced.
Ukrainian and U.S. delegations last met in Saudi Arabia on March 11, where Ukraine agreed to a U.S. proposal for a complete ceasefire. Russia did not agree to a complete ceasefire, and Russian missile and drone attacks against Ukraine have continued.
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
