2025-03-23 18:32

Witkoff expects progress from Saudi talks on Ukraine ceasefire Putin temporarily halts attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities US discussing Ukrainian children's future in Russia-Ukraine talks WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism on Sunday ahead of high-stakes talks in Saudi Arabia over thewar in Ukraine and said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to end the three-year-old conflict. "I feel that he wants peace," Witkoff told Fox News Sunday. Sign up here. A U.S. delegation is due to hold talks later on Sunday in Saudi Arabia with Ukrainian officials on a possible partial ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. U.S. and Russian officials will then hold talks on Monday, also in Saudi Arabia. "I think that you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you'll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire," Witkoff said. Putin agreed last week to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities temporarily, but declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire that President Donald Trump hoped would be the first step toward a permanent peace deal. Ukraine accepted Trump's 30-day proposal. Asked about Western criticism of Putin, Witkoff said he believed there were two sides to every story and played down concerns among Washington's NATO allies that Moscow could be emboldened by a deal and invade other neighbors. "I just don't see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two," Witkoff said. UKRAINIAN CHILDREN As it slashes a wide range of U.S. government programs and most foreign aid, the Trump administration has ended a government-funded initiative led by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab that tracked the mass deportation of children from Ukraine, lawmakers say. The White House's national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said the U.S. was in discussions during the Russia-Ukraine talks about confidence-building measures, including the future of Ukrainian children taken into Russia during the conflict. "We're talking through a number of confidence-building measures. That's one of them," Waltz told CBS News. Ukraine has called the abductions of tens of thousands of its children who were taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians a war crime that meets the U.N. treaty definition of genocide. Russia has said it has been evacuating people voluntarily and protecting vulnerable children from the war zone. Asked about the goals for the broader negotiations, Waltz said after a Black Sea ceasefire is agreed, "we'll talk the line of control, which is the actual front lines." "And that gets into the details of verification mechanisms, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are," Waltz said. "And then of course, the broader and permanent peace." https://www.reuters.com/world/us-envoy-witkoff-optimistic-ukraine-talks-says-putin-wants-peace-2025-03-23/

2025-03-23 15:38

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. officials are due to meet negotiators from Ukraine and from Russia in Saudi Arabia to discuss the details of a proposed 30-day ceasefire on strikes on energy infrastructure, as well as a longer-term peace deal. The Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will not be in the same room. Officials despatched by Kyiv are to meet the U.S. team in Riyadh on Sunday night. That is due to be followed by talks on Monday between Russian and U.S. negotiators. Sign up here. U.S. President Donald Trump spoke last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to push his effort to end the three-year war in Ukraine. Here are some of the issues that Russia, the U.S. and Ukraine are discussing: ENDING ATTACKS ON ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE Putin and Trump agreed last week "that the movement to peace will begin" with a 30-day pause in attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities, according to the White House. That narrowly defined ceasefire was quickly cast into doubt, with Moscow saying Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia while Kyiv said Russia had struck hospitals and homes, and knocked out power to some railways. Zelenskiy said Kyiv would draw up a list of facilities that could be subject to the partial ceasefire. That list could include not only energy, but also rail and port infrastructure, he said. A moratorium on energy infrastructure strikes could favour Moscow more than Kyiv, given it would prevent Ukraine from conducting long-range strikes on Russian oil facilities, a key way that it has inflicted pain on its enemy. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS A U.S. statement said Trump had suggested in his call with Zelenskiy that the U.S. could help run, and possibly own, Ukraine's nuclear power plants and energy infrastructure. Zelenskiy said he and Trump discussed the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia facility in Ukraine, Europe's largest nuclear plant. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of risking an accident at the plant with their actions. Zelenskiy said Kyiv would be ready to discuss U.S. involvement in modernizing the plant if it were returned to Ukraine. Ukraine would benefit in the long term from regaining control of the facility, which generated 20% of its entire power generation output before the war. However, Zelenskiy has warned it would take two and a half years to get the plant online because of the many technical challenges it faces. Industry sources say it would also take huge sums in investment. BLACK SEA SHIPPING Putin, the Kremlin said, had "responded constructively" to a Trump initiative on protecting Black Sea shipping and they agreed to begin negotiations on that. Turkey and the United Nations helped mediate the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal struck in July 2022 that allowed the safe export of nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea despite the war. Russia withdrew from the agreement after a year, complaining that its own food and fertilizer exports faced serious obstacles. The World Bank's global commodities outlook from April 2024 says that despite the Black Sea shipping risks, both Russia and Ukraine were shipping grain to global markets without major problems. It also said the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative had a minimal fallout. PRISONER EXCHANGES Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners of war each, both sides said on Wednesday and Russia handed over an additional 22 heavily wounded Ukrainian prisoners in what the Russian defence ministry called a goodwill gesture. Zelenskiy described the exchange as one of the largest of its kind and said the 22 Ukrainians were "severely wounded warriors and those whom Russia persecuted for fabricated crimes". NATO MEMBERSHIP Putin has said he wants Ukraine to officially drop its ambitions to join NATO. Ukraine defines joining NATO as a goal in its constitution and says that membership in the bloc would be the best and most effective form of security guarantee that it can receive as part of a peace deal. Last month, John Coale, Trump's deputy Ukraine envoy, said the United States had not ruled out potential NATO membership for Ukraine - or a negotiated return to its pre-2014 borders - contradicting comments made a day earlier by the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth had told Ukraine's military allies in Brussels a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and that the U.S. did not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war, sparking concern that the U.S. had made concessions even before the start of talks. Trump has said he does not believe Russia would "allow" Ukraine NATO membership. Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for pushing the idea, although it was first backed by Republican President George W. Bush in 2008. UKRAINE'S POST-WAR SECURITY With NATO membership not an immediate prospect, Ukraine is seeking guarantees built into any peace deal about its long-term security - but that puts it at odds with what the Kremlin wants from a deal. Kyiv and its backers in Europe agree the key to its security is a strong, unfettered Ukrainian military. Moscow meanwhile has said one condition of a peace deal is a reduction in Ukraine's military. Britain and France are pursuing a plan to create a deterrent force of foreign troops, ships and planes that would be based in or around Ukraine after a peace deal is signed. Details of how the force would operate and who will contribute are as yet unclear. But some Russian officials have said they could not accept such a force. WESTERN SANCTIONS, ELECTIONS Putin has said he wants Western sanctions eased and a presidential election to be held in Ukraine. Kyiv has not held any elections since 2019 because of wartime martial law, which prohibits holding elections. Ukrainian officials also say that holding an election during the war would be impossible in practice. Ukrainian officials say they are a sovereign nation, and it is not Moscow's place to dictate when they hold their election. The United States led broad sanctions efforts against Russia under Biden. The steps include measures aimed at limiting its oil and gas revenues, including a cap of $60 per barrel on Russia's oil exports. Since Trump came back to power in January, vowing to achieve peace in Ukraine, sources told Reuters his administration has been studying ways it could ease sanctions if Moscow agrees to end the war. However, this month Trump has also raised the prospect of imposing large-scale banking curbs and tariffs on Russia until peace is achieved. RUSSIAN-HELD TERRITORY Russia wants to control the entirety of the four eastern Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, plus the Crimean peninsula which it seized and annexed in 2014. Russia's Kommersant daily cited unnamed sources who attended a private business event with Putin on Tuesday as saying he wants the U.S. to formally recognise the four regions - Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - as part of Russia along with Crimea. Ukraine says it already recognises that it cannot recapture some occupied Ukrainian territory by force and that it will have to be returned diplomatically over time. Kyiv says, however, that it will never recognise Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian territory. Trump's National Security Adviser Mike Waltz was asked on Sunday if the U.S. would accept a peace deal in which Russia was allowed to keep Ukrainian territory. He replied: "We have to ask ourselves, is it in our national interest? Is it realistic? ... Are we going to drive every Russian off of every inch of Ukrainian soil?" UKRAINIAN NATURAL RESOURCES Kyiv and Washington have been discussing a deal under which the United States would get a financial return from the development of Ukrainian natural resources, in particular rare earths used to manufacture electronics. Efforts to seal the deal stumbled after a disastrous White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy at the end of last month. Trump said on March 21 a deal on rare earths would be signed very shortly. Beyond that deal, Ukraine's gas infrastructure could be of interest to the White House. Ukraine has the world's third largest underground gas storage capacity. It could eventually import liquefied natural gas from the United States, store it, then ship it westwards to European countries which are seeking alternatives to Russian natural gas. https://www.reuters.com/world/what-are-issues-us-talks-with-ukraine-russia-2025-03-23/

2025-03-23 14:29

JOHANNESBURG, March 23 (Reuters) - South Africa's government and state-owned logistics group Transnet are looking at new ways to attract private investment in the country's ailing freight rail network, the Transport Minister said on Sunday. Transnet has struggled to provide adequate freight rail and port services because of equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment, with rampant cable theft and vandalism also damaging the network. Sign up here. "The limited availability of state resources to fund infrastructure development and address backlogs has intensified these challenges, severely restricting the ability of state-owned entities to fulfil their critical mandates," Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said in a televised speech, adding that an online request for information (RFI) to private sector investors has been launched. The RFI focuses on, amongst others, the Northern-Cape to Saldanha Bulk Minerals Corridor primarily for iron ore and manganese exports, and the Northern-Cape to Nelson Mandela Bay Corridor, primarily for manganese exports, she said. The focus will also be the Limpopo and Mpumalanga to Richards Bay Bulk Minerals Corridor project for coal and chrome exports, including provision for magnetite exports in port. "Together with Transnet, Government has received numerous unsolicited proposals from the private sector offering investment, skills, and expertise to support the rehabilitation and reform of our struggling rail and port systems," Creecy said. After the request for information process, the government and Transnet will issue requests for proposals in August, she added https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-issue-request-proposals-private-sector-rail-investment-aug-2025-03-23/

2025-03-23 12:27

Kremlin: we inform of calls we know of Kremlin: there may be more contacts Trump says he has been speaking to Putin for weeks Putin and Trump last spoke earlier this month If Ukraine hits energy again, Putin may speak to Trump MOSCOW, March 23 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump may have had more contacts than the two publicly announced telephone calls over recent months, the Kremlin said in video footage published by state television on Sunday. Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said that he wants the three-year conflict in Ukraine to end and has warned of the risks of it escalating into a world war between the United States and Russia. Sign up here. There have so far been two announced phone calls between Putin and Trump this year - on Feb. 12 and on March 18 - though there has been speculation about much more frequent contact, and also reports that they spoke before Trump was elected last year. When asked by the most prominent Kremlin correspondent for state television about remarks by Trump that indicated there may have been more than two calls, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said information had been released about those calls he knew of. "Listen, we inform you about the conversations that we are aware of. But we can't rule out everything else," Peskov said. State television's Pavel Zarubin then asked: "So all sorts of nuances are possible as they say?" to which Peskov replied: "Well, that is how I would answer your question." The contacts between Trump and Putin have spooked European leaders who fear the United States could be turning its back on Europe in the hope of striking a peace deal with Russia as part of some broader grand bargain encompassing oil prices, the Middle East and competition with China. Trump told the Washington Examiner , opens new tab that he had been speaking to the Russian leader for weeks. Before the contacts with Trump, Putin last spoke to a sitting U.S. president in February 2022, when he and Joe Biden spoke shortly before the Russian leader ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward in his 2024 book "War" reported that Trump had direct conversations as many as seven times with Putin after he left the White House in 2021. Asked if that were true in an interview to Bloomberg last year, Trump said: "If I did, it's a smart thing." The Kremlin denied Woodward's report. Reuters, The Washington Post and Axios reported separately that Trump and Putin spoke in early November. The Kremlin also denied those reports. ENERGY ATTACKS Putin and Trump may have another phone call if Ukraine continues strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, Peskov said. Putin agreed to the suspension of such attacks in a phone call with Trump last week. Kyiv, which has said it would be willing to take part in such a partial ceasefire if a document setting out its terms is agreed, has accused Russia of not abiding by Putin's order, something Moscow denies. "While the Russian side has been sticking to its word for several days now, the word that the president gave, and to the president's command, which immediately came into force and was immediately implemented, and is still being implemented, the same cannot be said of the Kyiv regime", Peskov said. Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Friday of blowing up a Russian gas pumping station in a border area where Ukrainian troops have been retreating. Russia said on Saturday it reserves the right to a "symmetrical response" to Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities. Asked if Ukraine's violation of the agreement may become a reason for another Putin-Trump call, Peskov said: "Absolutely. The presidents confirmed their intention to continue contacts as necessary." In another clip released on Zarubin's Telegram channel earlier on Sunday, Peskov said the latest phone call between Putin and Trump was "a step towards a face-to-face meeting", adding that Russia-U.S. talks in Riyadh scheduled for Monday would also be such a step, Interfax news agency reported. https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-trump-may-have-spoken-more-than-twice-kremlin-says-2025-03-23/

2025-03-23 12:05

CAIRO, March 23 (Reuters) - Iraq plans to raise oil production capacity to more than 6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2029, the state news agency reported Iraq's oil ministry as saying on Sunday. Oil ministry undersecretary Bassem Mohamed Khodeir told the agency that Iraq aims to achieve its target through oil exploration and nationwide drilling activity, pointing to a recent deal with oil major BP (BP.L) , opens new tab to redevelop four Kirkuk oil and gas fields. Sign up here. Iraq's current oil output stands at about 4 million bpd, oil ministry officials say. It is the second-largest producer within the OPEC+ group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia and last month reaffirmed commitment to the group's output agreement. Iraq also said it would present an updated plan to compensate for any previous overproduction. OPEC+ is cutting output by 5.85 million (bpd), equating to about 5.7% of global supply, in a series of steps agreed since 2022 and is set to begin scheduled supply increases in April. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-plans-raise-oil-production-capacity-above-6-million-bpd-by-2029-2025-03-23/

2025-03-23 10:18

BEIJING, March 23 (Reuters) - China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (600028.SS) , opens new tab, , known as Sinopec, reported a 16.8% decline in 2024 net profit on Sunday, citing lower crude oil prices and the accelerated development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. The world's largest oil refiner by capacity posted a net income of 50.3 billion yuan ($6.94 billion), based on Chinese accounting standards, in a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing. Sign up here. "In 2024, international crude oil prices fluctuated downward, the domestic transportation industry accelerated the replacement of new energy ... the gross profit margin was significantly narrowed," Sinopec said in the filing. "The company made every effort to expand the market and sales ... (and) continues to strengthen cost and expense control, and take multiple measures to cope with market changes." The fall in net income compares with a decline of 9.9% in 2023, also on falling oil prices. The state oil and gas major's gasoline sales fell 0.7% and diesel sales fell 4.8%. Aviation fuel sales rose 7.3%. The figures included both domestic sales and exports. Refinery throughput fell 2.14% last year to 252 million metric tons, equivalent to 5.06 million barrels per day. The company forecast a rise to 255 million tons this year. Sinopec expects its crude oil production in 2025 to be 280.15 million barrels and natural gas output of 1,450.3 billion cubic feet. The company said it set aside provision for asset impairment of 7.2 billion yuan ($993.3 million) in 2024 due to "market price fluctuations of some products, shutdowns or losses of individual production facilities". In Sinopec's petrochemical business, sales of chemical fibres and plastics were up 19.8%. Sinopec said it plans capital spending of 164.3 billion yuan this year to cover key investments such as exploration and development. ($1 = 7.2486 yuan) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sinopecs-2024-net-profit-plunges-168-due-falling-oil-prices-nevs-2025-03-23/