On Monday, March 24, 2025, Russian-American talks will be held in Saudi Arabia, the main topic of which will be the possible resumption of the Black Sea grain initiative. This was reported by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov, emphasizing that the upcoming consultations will be difficult due to many unresolved issues. According to him, the Russian side intends to discuss in detail all aspects related to this topic, taking into account both the previous experience of implementing the agreement and current challenges. 

Peskov noted that President Vladimir Putin had previously expressed his willingness to consider the possibility of returning to the Black Sea initiative, but the success of the negotiations would depend on the parties' ability to address the accumulated problems. He recalled that in the past, Russia had fully fulfilled its obligations under the grain deal brokered by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. However, according to Peskov, the reciprocal obligations towards the Russian side remained unfulfilled, which was one of the reasons for the agreement's termination in July 2023. 

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in July 2022 with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN, was intended to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, as well as to lift restrictions on the supply of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets. Over the year of the agreement, more than 32 million tons of products were exported, but Moscow suspended its participation in the deal, pointing to the systematic disregard for its interests. In particular, Russia repeatedly emphasized that most of the grain was sent to developed countries, and not to regions in dire need of food, which contradicted the stated humanitarian goals of the initiative. 

The upcoming talks will take place in Riyadh, where the Russian delegation will be headed by Senator Grigory Karasin and Advisor to the Director of the FSB Sergei Beseda. The American side is expected to be represented by US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who previously announced the meeting, specifying that it could touch upon not only the grain initiative, but also issues of a partial ceasefire in Ukraine. According to Russian media, the consultations in Saudi Arabia are considered part of a broader dialogue that began after a telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on March 18, 2025. At that time, the leaders of the two countries discussed prospects for resolving the conflict and resuming trade mechanisms in the Black Sea region.