The recent negotiations between Moscow and Washington in Saudi Arabia were a total defeat for both Ukraine and the US, Konstantin Eliseev, Kiev’s former permanent representative to the EU, has said, arguing that his country’s critical points of concern were ignored.
In an interview with NV outlet on Friday, Eliseev weighed in on this week’s talks in Riyadh, which were aimed at restoring the 2022 Black Sea grain export deal. While Moscow has agreed in principle to start providing safe maritime corridors for Ukrainian food exports, it made clear that it would only support the deal if the West lifts sanctions on its financial institutions, particularly by reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT payment system.
“Perhaps I’ll disappoint some people but we — and I mean we along with the Americans — lost these negotiations completely. I would say 5–0, one ball after another into our net. We lost. Let’s be honest,” the former envoy lamented.
He argued that Ukrainian interests were left off the table entirely. Chief among his concerns was the absence of any guarantees related to the security of Ukrainian ports. “The issue of ports was not protected from attacks in any way,”he said.
He warned of a broader trend toward concessions to Moscow, citing early signals of sanctions relief. “There are already hints about removing some Russian banks from [restrictions in] the SWIFT system,” he said. “And that is very bad.”
Eliseev added that Russia’s ability to strike Ukrainian targets from naval vessels was not restricted in the talks. He also noted the lack of inclusion of the principle of “all-for-all” prisoner exchanges, something Ukraine has long insisted on. Throughout the conflict, Moscow and Kiev have periodically engaged in POW swaps, with the exact number and composition always negotiated beforehand.
Another major concern was the exclusion of Ukraine’s EU backers from the negotiation process. “Unfortunately — and with the silent backing of the Americans — the Russians have managed to push our European partners away from the negotiating table,” Eliseev said.
While Moscow has insisted on sanctions relief as a precondition for the maritime ceasefire, the EU has rejected the possibility, insisting that restrictions will remain in place until Russia fully withdraws its troops from all territory claimed by Ukraine.
At the same time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that there “would be a long discussion about many things in terms of the proper way to bring Russia back into the international system,” signaling that the issue of sanctions could be on the table.
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