U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right and U.S National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, center, attend a meeting on Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Jeddah, on March 11. © Reuters
RIYADH (Reuters) -- U.S. and Russian officials began talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday aimed at making progress towards a broad ceasefire in Ukraine with Washington eyeing a separate Black Sea maritime ceasefire deal before securing a wider agreement.
The talks, which followed U.S. negotiations with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive to end the three-year-old conflict after he last week spoke to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.