Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us this lunchtime, here's the latest we know about the talks in Saudi Arabia, as well as what's been happening on the frontline in Ukraine:

• Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Black Sea shipping was discussed with American counterparts in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, on Monday
• Russia says it will be willing to strike a deal but only if the US orders Ukraine to respect it (for context, Russia pulled out of the initial deal in summer 2023 after saying key parts had not been implemented)
• US and Russian officials met for 12 hours and had been expected to release a joint statement this morning
• But according to one Russian politician, a joint statement was not adopted "because of Ukraine's position"
• On Tuesday, the US also concluded talks with the Ukrainian delegation
• Ukraine says Russia launched 139 drones and one ballistic missile overnight. Kyiv says up to 30 Russian troops were killed in an air strike on military infrastructure in Kursk
• Russia meanwhile is accusing Ukraine of continuing attacks on its energy infrastructure

Image source, Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be meeting French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow at the Elysée Palace in Paris, French media is reporting.

The two leaders will hold talks ahead of the next iteration of meetings as part of the "coalition of the willing", due to take place on Thursday.

Talks are continuing between European leaders on how to ensure any ceasefire agreement secured between Russia and Ukraine is maintained, as well as how Kyiv can be given assurances about its future security.

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, among the topics said to have been discussed in Riyadh is the potential revival of the 2022 Black Sea grain deal - which had allowed cargo ships travelling to and from Ukraine to safely navigate without being attacked by Russia.

Both Ukraine and Russia are major grain exporters, and prices rocketed after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

A reluctance on the part of international shipping companies to do business with Moscow also hampered Russian exports.

Two deals were brokered by the UN and Turkey - one with Ukraine, and one with Russia - that together were intended to allow both countries to resume and scale-up shipments to amounts closer to pre-war levels.

The deal facilitated the movement of grain, sunflower oil and other products required for food production such as fertiliser through the Black Sea.

It was initially put in place for a period of 120 days but, after multiple extensions, Russia pulled out in July 2023, claiming key parts of the agreement had not been implemented.

Image source, Getty Images

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says United Nations chief Antonio Guterres is in constant contact with Russia on the issue of easing Russian grain and fertiliser exports.

According to the Kremlin, Guterres is "trying to help" and looking for ways around current Western sanctions.

We have not heard anything yet from the UN in response to Lavrov's comments.

The UN, alongside Turkey, brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2022. But inthe summer of 2023, Russia pulled out of the agreement and stopped giving safe passage to cargo ships going to and from Ukraine.

A separate agreement, called the Memorandum of Understanding, was signed between the UN and Russia to facilitate the export of Russian food products and fertilisers.

The US and Russia did not issue a joint statement after their peace talks in Riyadh because of "Ukraine's position", a Russian politician claims.

“The fact that they sat for 12 hours and apparently agreed a joint statement – which wasn’t however adopted because of Ukraine’s position – that is very typical and symptomatic," Vladimir Chizhov, first deputy head of the defence committee at the Russian parliament’s upper house, has told Russian media this morning.

He added that he wouldn't "comment on such details before they are made public”.

The Kremlin said earlier that the contents of the US-Russia talks held in Saudi Arabia yesterday would not be published, with the results still “being analysed”by both sides.

The two countries were expected to release a joint statement at 08:00 GMT today. It's not clear whether one might still be released later today.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Moscow has accused Ukraine of continuing to target Russia's civilian energy infrastructure amid continuing peace talks.

In a statement, Russia's defence ministry said Ukrainian drones attacked a power grid in the Krasnodar territory yesterday, as well as a gas distribution station in the occupied Luhansk region. It also said a Ukrainian drone targeted an underground gas storage facility in occupied Crimea yesterday, which was intercepted.

"By continuing daily attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, Zelensky confirms that he is incapable of sticking to agreements or of being managed by foreign guarantors of any possible agreements," the ministry said.

• For context: Following talks with US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Vladimir Putin agreed not to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Within hours of this being announced both Moscow and Kyiv accused the other of breaching the agreement.

Away from the talks, both Russia and Ukraine have continued to carry out attacks overnight.

Images have been released by Ukraine's state emergency service, which says show the aftermath of Russian drone strikes in the cities of Fastiv and Boryspil, in the Kyiv region, and the city of Izyum, in the north-eastern Kharkiv region.

Image source, Ukrainian state emergency service

Image source, Ukrainian state emergency service

Image source, Ukrainian state emergency service

Long talks and slow progresspublished at 11:29 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March

11:29 GMT 25 March

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent in Kyiv

There were 12 hours of talks between the Russians and Americans on Monday in Riyadh. The text we're expecting will probably give some readout of what was discussed.

What's interesting is the fact Washington and Moscow are even contemplating issuing a joint statement that does not involve the Ukrainians, despite those talks with the Kyiv continuing.

Ahead of these talks, people were describing them as shuttle diplomacy - with three delegations in the same hotel complex in Riyadh.

But there doesn't seem to be that much shuttling - it seems to be just long talks with one side and the Americans to find where there is common ground.

The focus is on restoring the 2022 Black Sea grain initiative - a very specific deal done to open up one seaway to get grain and fertiliser out of Ukraine, while in return relaxing economic sanctions to let Russia export some more of its grain and fertiliser.

That is not the same thing as a comprehensive ceasefire across the Black Sea, so we wait to see precisely what they've agreed, if anything.

But at the moment, it seems to be as ever slow incremental steps rather than anything resembling a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire across the whole of the Ukraine which was demanded by the US and agreed to by Kyiv.

Image source, EPA

Issues surrounding the safety of shipping in the Black Sea were discussed with the US in Saudi Arabia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says, according to the state-owned Tass news agency.

Lavrov adds that Russia is in favour of resuming the Black Sea grain initiative - a deal allowing Ukraine to safely export grain, after pulling out in 2023.

The Kremlin said a short while ago that the contents of the talks held in Riyadh yesterday would not be published, with the results still “being analysed” by both sides.

It had been reported earlier, however, that negotiators were examining a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea.

• The Kremlin says the contents of the US-Russia talks held in Saudi Arabia yesterday will not be published, with the results still “being analysed” by both sides
• It had been expected that Moscow and Washington would release a joint statement on yesterday’s meeting at 08:00 GMT, but this has not yet been shared – it's now not clear if we'll still get it
• In Riyadh, Ukrainian and American officials have just finished a round of fresh talks – the AFP news agency cites a Kyiv delegate as saying “all details will be announced later”
• Negotiators have reportedly been examining the possibility of a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea, as efforts continue to bring about lasting peace in Ukraine
• On the ground, Kyiv and Moscow are continuing to trade fire. Ukraine says Russia launched 139 drones and one ballistic missile overnight. In a separate statement, Kyiv says up to 30 Russian troops were killed in an air strike on military infrastructure in Kursk

We're continuing to monitor for updates, and will bring you all the latest right here on this page. Stay with us.

Earlier, we brought you reports that the US and Ukrainian teams in Saudi Arabia were holding a further meeting today.

That meeting has now ended, the AFP news agency reports, citing a source from the Kyiv delegation.

"The talks are over. All details will be announced later," the source tells a small group of media, according to AFP.

Ukraine's national broadcaster, Suspilne, also reports that the talks - the second round in the past three days - have finished.

Ben Tavener
Moscow producer

Image source, EPA

More now on what we've heard from Moscow about the talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.

As we reported in our last post, the Kremlin says the results of the meeting have been conveyed to their respective capitals and are currently “being analysed”.

“We’re talking about technical talks, where they go into detail, so of course the contents of those talks definitely won’t be made public,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says on a daily conference call with Russian and international journalists.

“The briefings made to the capitals are being analysed [and] we can talk about the understandings [reached] later,” he adds.

On the potential for another call between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, he says there are no plans right now, but that it could be quickly arranged if needed.

Asked whether there were now grounds for three-way talks including Ukraine, Peskov says that had not been discussed.

A Kremlin spokesperson says both Russia and the US are currently analysing the outcome of talks in Saudi Arabia yesterday.

Dmitry Peskov adds that the content of what was discussed will not be published.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

• As a reminder, we're still waiting for that US-Russia joint statement, which was due at 08:00 GMT

Image source, Reuters

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron will hold another meeting on the "coalition of the willing" on Thursday.

In the aftermath of the Saudi Arabia talks, the European leaders, along with their allies, aim to provide possible solutions to ensure any potential ceasefire agreement can be maintained and give Ukraine confidence about its future security.

In a statement shared yesterday, a Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer was continually updating the White House on meetings with his allies, following conversations on military planning.

The US and Ukrainian delegations are currently holding a further round of talks in Riyadh, according to reports.

"We are still working with the Americans," a member of the Ukrainian delegation tells a small group of media, according to the AFP news agency.

Bloomberg is reporting the same, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

We had been expecting the US and Russia to release a joint statement by now following peace talks yesterday.

The BBC's US partner, CBS News, cited sources as saying it would land at 08:00 GMT.

We're keeping an eye out and will bring you any updates as we get them.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Russia-US talks in Riyadh were “difficult but constructive”, a Russian senator quotes negotiator Grigory Karasin as saying on the state-controlled Rossiya 24 news channel.

Vladimir Dzhabarov is one of Karasin’s deputies on the Russian upper house’s foreign affairs committee.

Senator Dzhabarov says he spoke to Karasin earlier this morning as he was about to leave Saudi Arabia following the negotiations with the Americans.

The Russian delegation is expected to land in Moscow this evening after a stopover, Dzhabarov says.

As we've been reporting, we're expecting the US and Russia to publish a joint statement shortly.

It follows delegations from both countries holding talks in Saudi Arabia yesterday, where the US team also met representatives from Ukraine. Negotiators have reportedly been examining the possibility of a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea.

The BBC's US partner, CBS News, cites sources as saying a statement is expected at 08:00 GMT.

We've got our eyes peeled, and we'll bring you the key lines if it materialises as expected.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

More now from the ground.

Kyiv says up to 30 Russian troops were killed in an air strike on an “element of military infrastructure” in Russia’s Kursk region.

“As a result of the strike it was completely destroyed,” the Ukrainian General Staff says in a statement, adding that the strike “degrades the enemy's ability to conduct operations against Ukraine's Defense Forces in Sumy and Kursk regions”.

Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk region in August last year, but over the recent weeks its forces have been withdrawing under pressure from the Russians.

Both Russia and the US claim significant numbers of them were surrounded in Kursk region, but Ukraine denies this.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Ukraine’s air force says Russia used 139 drones and one Iskander ballistic missile in overnight attacks.

According to the statement issued this morning, it shot down 78 drones, while another 34 were dummy drones not carrying explosives and did not cause any damage.

It does not say what happened to the remaining 27 drones or the missile, which suggests they likely reached their targets.