No sign Russia is ready to compromise in war against Ukraine - Lithuanian FM

“We haven’t seen Russia agreeing to anything in good faith — only through a mutually acceptable process where each side makes certain compromises,” Budrys said.

The Lithuanian minister stressed that his country is not a neutral observer in this war and fully supports Ukraine and its right to self-defense.

He added that firm military force, economic restrictions, sanctions, and the use of frozen assets as leverage will all continue to work against the Kremlin.

“If this becomes the first time in history that Russia behaves differently, I will be very surprised,” he noted.

According to him, the U.S. role in the peace process must be backed by tough diplomatic tools and leverage against Russia, especially should Russian dictator Vladimir Putin show no willingness to end the aggression and agree to a ceasefire on fair terms.

Lithuania is prepared to give the United States space to continue its diplomatic efforts — to evaluate their effectiveness and see whether Russia’s 'behavior' changes.

US, Ukraine, and Russia talks in Riyadh 

On March 25, the White House released a statement summarizing the three-day negotiations between the United States, Ukraine, and the aggressor state Russia in Saudi Arabia.

According to the statement, the US, Russia, and Ukraine agreed to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to develop measures for implementing a ceasefire related to energy infrastructure. The US also pledged to assist Ukraine with efforts to facilitate prisoner exchanges, the release of detained civilians, and the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that if Russia moves its military vessels beyond the eastern part of the Black Sea, this would be considered a violation of the agreement, and Ukraine will have the full right to self-defense.

The aggressor state Russia also issued a statement similar in content to the White House’s. However, the Kremlin claimed that the provision ensuring safe navigation in the Black Sea will only take effect after the US fulfilled a list of conditions — including lifting sanctions on certain Russian food exporters and removing restrictions on the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank).

Russia further asserted that the strike ban on energy infrastructure would last for 30 days, starting March 18 — the date of a phone call between the US president and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin — and could be extended.

On the evening of March 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had already begun trying to distort the agreements made with the United States and reiterated that Ukraine does not trust the Kremlin.