Russia and Ukraine agreed to 'eliminate the use of force' in the Black Sea, White House says following talks

LONDON -- Following separate talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia this week, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to "eliminate the use of force" in the Black Sea, according to readouts from the White House.

Russia and Ukraine "have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea," according to the readouts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to the agreement as a "ceasefire" in the Black Sea, during a press conference on Tuesday.

"The Ukrainian side emphasizes that all movement by Russia of its military vessels outside of astern part of the Black Sea will constitute violation of the spirit of this agreement, will be regarded as violation of the commitment to ensure safe navigation of the Black Sea and threat to the national security of Ukraine," Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in a post on Facebook. "In this case Ukraine will have full right to exercise right to self-defense."

Both Russia and Ukraine also agreed to "develop measures to implement the agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities in Russia and Ukraine," according to the White House readouts.

In its readout on the talks with the U.S., Russia said the ban would last 30 days, as of March 18, "with the possibility of extending and withdrawing from the agreement in case of non-compliance by one of the parties."

All parties are working toward "achieving a durable and lasting peace," the White House readouts noted.

The White House made a specific agreement with Ukraine over the exchange of prisoners of war, according to a readout on the Ukrainian talks in Riyadh.

"The United States and Ukraine agreed that the United States remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children," the readout stated.

The White House also made a specific agreement with Russia, focused on agriculture and maritime costs, according to a readout on the Russian talks in Riyadh.

"The United States will help restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transaction," the readout stated.

The agreements on the Black Sea and Russian exports will only go into effect after sanctions and restrictions placed on certain Russian companies related to food and agriculture are lifted, Russia said in its readout.

Zelenskyy said that if either Russia or Ukraine feels the deal has been broken, they should appeal to the U.S.

"For the effective implementation of the arrangements, it is important to hold additional technical consultations as soon as possible to agree on all the details and technical aspects of the implementation, monitoring and control of the arrangements," Umerov said.

Monday's closed-door talks with Russia in Riyadh lasted for 12 hours, a source told Russia's state-run TASS news agency.

Grigory Karasin, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, who took part in the talks in Riyadh, told TASS that "the dialogue was detailed and complex but quite useful for us and for the Americans." Karasin added, "We discussed numerous issues."

The talks were expected to include discussions on a potential ceasefire in the Black Sea, Peskov had told reporters on Monday. That proposal, Peskov said, came from President Donald Trump and was agreed to by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A proposed pause in long-range attacks on energy and other critical infrastructure targets was also expected to be part of the discussions. Though Putin and Zelenskyy both agreed to the proposal in principle last week, cross-border strikes had continued.

The U.S.-Russia meeting on Monday came on the heels of a meeting between the American and Ukrainian teams in Riyadh on Sunday. U.S. and Ukrainian representatives also held talks after the American meeting with the Russian team concluded, a source familiar with the discussions told ABC News.

The Ukrainian and U.S. delegations met again in Riyadh on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.

On Monday, responding to another round of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, Zelenskyy wrote on social media that "the war was brought from Russia and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who must be pressured to ensure security."

On Monday night into Tuesday morning, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched one missile and 139 drones into the country, of which 78 drones were shot down and 34 lost in flight without causing damage.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces shot down five Ukrainian drones over occupied Crimea.

ABC News' Anna Sergeeva, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, Will Gretsky, Ellie Kaufman and Guy Davies contributed to this report.