Ukraine backed a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and agreed to “immediate” negotiations with Russia after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, more than three years since Moscow invaded its neighbor.
In addition, Washington also agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
What did Rubio say about the talks with Ukraine?
After more than eight hours of negotiations with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would now take the offer to Russia.
“Our hope is that the Russians will answer ‘yes’ as quickly as possible, so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations,” Rubio told reporters.
With Trump putting fierce pressure on Kyiv and reaching out to Moscow, Ukrainian officials came to the talks keen to reconcile with Washington, proposing a partial truce on air and sea attacks.
Trump’s advisors pressed for more, and said Ukraine agreed to their proposal for a broader month-long ceasefire.
“Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations,” Rubio told reporters after the talks in Jeddah.
“We’ll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court.”
“If they say no then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here,” Rubio said of Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
US to resume aid, intelligence sharing
Rubio said the United States would immediately resume military aid and intelligence sharing it had halted after a fractious meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month.
And Tuesday’s developments led Trump to saying he was ready to welcome Zelenskyy back to the White House and may speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week.
Asked about the prospects of a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump said: “Well, I hope it will be over the next few days, I’d like to see.”
“I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow and some great conversations hopefully will ensue.”
Ukraine, US to sign minerals deal
In a joint statement, Ukraine and the US said they would conclude “as soon as possible” a deal securing Washington access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth.
Zelenskyy was to sign the deal at the White House before the dramatic showdown on February 28, in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance confronted the Ukrainian president, accusing him of lacking gratitude.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy thanked Trump over the “positive” ceasefire proposal made in Jeddah and said the US must now put pressure on Russia to accept.
“The American side understands our arguments, perceives our proposals, and I want to thank President Trump for the constructive conversation between our teams,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address.
Macron cautiously welcomes progress
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the progress made in talks.
“The ball is now clearly in Russia’s court,” Macron posted on X, echoing comments from Rubio.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also used that expression.
Macron noted that France and its partners don’t just want any peace arrangement but one that is “supported by robust security guarantees for Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry seemingly downplayed the importance of the Jeddah meeting.
“The shaping of the position of the Russian Federation does not take place abroad due to some agreements or efforts of some parties. The formation of the position of the Russian Federation takes place inside the Russian Federation,” ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was cited by Russian state news agency TASS as saying.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
