By Tom Balmforth, Antoni Slodkowski and Simon Lewis
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Ukraine and Russia have both voiced an interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy-related targets, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York.
Ukraine, which fears Russia plans to pound power and heating facilities with missiles and drones this winter, has been pressing for ceasefires covering energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping.
“I think both sides have expressed an interest in some limited ceasefire that involve grain and energy. Obviously, you know, that won’t be easy either,” Rubio told reporters.
Russia has given no public indication it is ready to agree a maritime or energy truce with Ukraine and it was not immediately clear if Rubio was suggesting there had been movement on the Russian side after his talks with Lavrov.
Rubio noted that it was a particular challenge that energy strikes were at the core of both countries’ tactical priorities in their war, which is now in its fifth year.
World leaders have converged on New York this week for the annual UN General Assembly debate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was expected to address the General Assembly later on Wednesday, met US President Donald Trump on Tuesday and said they had discussed a ceasefire on energy-related targets.
The Ukrainian president told leaders at the United Nations earlier that Kyiv was ready for a maritime truce in the Black Sea based on proposals such as by Egypt, India and Turkey and said it was now up to Russia to respond.
Zelenskiy spoke at Ukraine’s Crimean Platform summit ahead of a Security Council meeting on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We are waiting for Russia’s response. Ukraine is ready … to ensure safe shipping and food security in the Black Sea if Russia is ready to take real steps towards de-escalation too. We have to start somewhere,” he said.
Top wheat importers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa that count on the Black Sea region for wheat have been finding it hard to secure supplies. Global wheat prices have soared.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the Security Council that France backed moratoriums on attacks against energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea as a first step toward de-escalation.
Ahead of the Lavrov-Rubio meeting, the Kremlin said there were no grounds for wider Ukraine peace talks, while saying it remained open to such talks.
“For now, there are no prerequisites for moving on to a peaceful negotiating track, although we, as the Russian side, remain open to peace talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he would be ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at a trilateral meeting with Trump.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Howard Goller)
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