UNITED NATIONS, March 20. /TASS/. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is ready to mediate potential talks on Ukraine, if necessary, but he has not spoken to the parties lately, Secretary-General’s Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters, answering to a question from TASS.
"There are no recent calls just to mention, but what I can say is that the Secretary General has made clear to his various interlocutors the willingness of the UN to make available its good offices, if the parties accept. As you know, in the case of Russia and Ukraine, he has done so in the past, including through The Black Sea grain initiative from several years ago, and he's willing to do so again, as conditions allow," the deputy spokesman said.
On March 18, Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the situation in Ukraine, conditions for preventing escalation, and a number of international topics by phone. According to the Kremlin, Putin agreed with the US leader's proposal on mutual refusal of the parties to the conflict in Ukraine from attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days. According to the White House, the parties also agreed to begin technical negotiations to introduce a "cease-fire on the Black Sea, a full cease-fire and permanent peace."
Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said on Thursday that Russian and US experts will convene for consultations on Ukraine in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), on March 24. The Russian delegation will be led by senator Grigory Karasin and the adviser to the FSB chief, Sergey Beseda.