Russia Sets To Support Black Sea Deal With Ukraine If U.S Secures Zelensky’s Pledge

Russia sets to support Black Sea deal with Ukraine if U.S secures Zelensky’s pledge. Mr Lavrov said the market for grain and fertiliser needed to be “predictable.”

Russia on Tuesday said it’s willing to strike a new agreement on the safety of shipping in the Black Sea if the United States ordered President Volodymyr Zelensky to respect it.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said only such an order would provide the assurances that Russia needed, which might be a possible stepping stone towards a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Each side criticised the other over the collapse in 2023 of an earlier agreement intended to ensure the safety of merchant shipping in the Black Sea after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

“We will need clear guarantees. And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelensky and his team to do one thing and not the other.

And it seems to me that our American partners have received this signal. They understand that only Washington can achieve positive results in stopping terrorist attacks, stopping shelling of civilian infrastructure, and energy infrastructure not related to the military-industrial complex, Mr Lavrov said in televised comments.

Russia frequently accuses Ukraine of terrorist actions and Kyiv has often used similar language in response to Russian attacks that have killed thousands of civilians in Ukraine during three years of war.

Mr Lavrov’s comments indicated that Russia will demand a further tightening of U.S. pressure on Mr Zelensky before it will agree to a maritime ceasefire, which Washington said would be an important step towards a more comprehensive truce.

Mr Zelenskiy and Mr Trump had a disastrous meeting in the White House in February. Kyiv and its European allies fear Mr Trump could seal a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that gives in to Russian demands and undermines their security.

The maritime ceasefire under discussion would be a successor to the earlier Black Sea deal that had allowed Ukraine to safely export nearly 33 million metric tonnes of grain in spite of the war.

However, Moscow withdrew in 2023, saying its own food and fertiliser exports faced serious issues because of Western sanctions affecting payments, logistics and insurance.

Kyiv had earlier accused Russia of obstructing the initiative.

Mr Lavrov said the market for grain and fertiliser needed to be “predictable.” He said Russia could not take Mr Zelensky at his word, a charge Mr Zelensky often levels at Mr Putin.

The Black Sea initiative was the priority of discussions at a meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Monday, Mr Lavrov added.

Russia Sets To Support Black Sea Deal

The Kremlin said earlier that both Russia and the U.S. were analysing the outcome of the talks, but the details would not be made public.

Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne cited a source as saying Ukrainian and U.S. officials would meet in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

When Mr Trump and Mr Putin spoke earlier, the Russian leader declined a proposal by the U.S. president for a full 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but agreed to a moratorium on attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Ukraine said it is ready to join a limited energy ceasefire if it is properly documented.

United Airlines Flight Returns To United State After Pilot Forgets Passport

United airlines flight returns to United State after pilot forgets passport. A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai had to turn back midair after the pilot realized he had forgotten his passport.

Flight UA198 was already over the Pacific Ocean on Saturday afternoon when it was diverted to San Francisco, according to flight tracking data.

United Airlines confirmed the incident in an email to AFP on Tuesday, stating that the Boeing 787, carrying 270 passengers, had to make an unscheduled stop because the pilot did not have his passport.

United Airlines Flight

A replacement crew was arranged, and passengers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation before continuing their journey later that evening. The flight eventually landed at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport about six hours behind schedule.

This incident occurred amid global travel disruptions, including those caused by a recent power outage at London’s Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest hub.

Goodluck Jonathan Wins 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize

Goodluck Jonathan wins 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize. According to him, Mr Jonathan becomes the third person and the first African leader to win this category of the award.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been nominated as the winner of the 2025 Founders Sunhak Peace Award.

Ikechukwu Eze, special adviser to Mr Jonathan disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Mr Eze said that the award would be presented to the former president by Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation in Seoul, South Korea on April 11.

According to him, Mr Jonathan becomes the third person and the first African leader to win this category of the award, after former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon and Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen.
Mr Eze said that this year’s award ceremony, the sixth in the series, would take place in Seoul on April 11, where Mr Jonathan and other laureates would be decorated.

He quoted the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee as stating that the honour was in recognition of Jonathan’s consistent mediations and pro-democracy activities to bring peace to the African continent.

This, according to him, is especially through the instrumentality of the various associations he chairs, including Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF), West African Elders’ Forum (WAEF) and International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP).

The Sunhak Peace Award and the Sunhak Peace Prize are two categories of awards presented biennially by the committee to individuals and organisations acknowledged as worthy contributors to world peace and human development.

Prominent past winners of the second category, which is the Sunhak Peace Prize, included former Senegalese President Macky Sall and President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina.

Others were Dame Sarah Gilbert, Co-developer of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as well as GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

Mr Eze said that Mr Jonathan would be receiving his award alongside three individuals who were recently announced by José Barroso, the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee Chair and former President of the European Commission, as winners in the other category.

Goodluck Jonathan

They include Patrick Awuah Jr., founder and president of Ashesi University in Ghana, Hugh Evans, co-founder and chief executive officer of Global Citizen and Wanjira Mathai, Regional Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute.

Mr Eze also quoted the founder of the prize, Dr Hak Ja Han Moon, as stating in her pre-event address that the lives of the laureates had been an inspiring testament to how peace could be realised through concrete actions and cultural transformation.

“Over the past decade, the Sunhak Peace Prize has identified and honoured individuals.

“Individuals who have dedicated themselves to addressing urgent global challenges based on its three core values: respect for human rights, reconciliation of conflicts and ecological conservation,’’ Ms Moon said.

Established in 2015, the biennial Sunhak Peace Prize honours individuals and organisations that have shown extraordinary services to global peace and well-being in any of the three areas.

The areas are sustainable human development, conflict resolution or ecological conservation.