Ukraine has said it is ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, as the United States announced it would immediately lift its restrictions on military aid and intelligence sharing after high-stakes talks in Saudi Arabia, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
The agreement, delivered in a joint statement following talks between senior US and Ukrainian officials, came nearly two weeks after an Oval Office blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy that led the White House to suspend aid to Ukraine over the objections of its European allies.
US officials have said that they hope the agreement will help lead to talks to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to Moscow in the coming days to propose the ceasefire to Vladimir Putin.
"We'll take this [30-day ceasefire] offer now to the Russians, and we hope they'll say yes the ball is now in Russia's court," said the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, after the negotiations concluded.
In a joint statement, Ukraine also said that it had "expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation".
The US says it will take the proposal to Russia, where Vladimir Putin will be forced to decide whether to conclude a temporary ceasefire or risk souring relations with the White House under the new Trump administration.
"The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace," the statement read.
The decision came more than a week after the US cut off crucial aid to Ukraine, including deliveries of military radars and ammunition, as well as information sharing, which put significant pressure on Ukraine to agree to a US-proposed deal.
"The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear: that they share President Trump's vision for peace," said the US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who also joined the negotiations.
As a result, the US said it would "immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine".
In an attempt to put pressure on Moscow hours before the Jeddah peace talks, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow since the start of the war.
The Russian defence ministry reported 337 drones were launched at Russia overnight on Monday, including 91 targeting the Moscow region, killing two people, sparking fires and disrupting flights and train services.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ