Jeddah: Ukraine has accepted a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia following high-stakes talks in Jeddah on Tuesday, marking a potential turning point after three years of war.
Ukraine’s positive response led the Trump administration to lift its freeze on military aid and sparked optimism for an end to the conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. President Donald Trump applied pressure on Kyiv while reaching out to Moscow, with Ukrainian officials proposing a partial truce on air and sea attacks. The US pushed for more, securing Ukraine’s agreement to a full month-long ceasefire.
“Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted — a ceasefire and immediate negotiations,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after nine hours of talks. “We’ll take this offer to the Russians and hope they say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court.”
Rubio warned that if Russia rejects the proposal, the world would know “what the impediment is to peace here.” The US also pledged to immediately resume military assistance and intelligence sharing, which had been paused following a tense February 28 meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In Washington, Trump expressed hope for swift progress: “I hope this will be over in the next few days. We have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and hopefully some great conversations will ensue.”
A joint US-Ukraine statement revealed plans to finalize a deal granting the US access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, a demand Trump made as compensation for billions of dollars in American military support. The deal was supposed to be signed at the White House before the recent diplomatic standoff.
Zelensky welcomed the ceasefire proposal and urged the US to persuade Russia to agree: “The American side understands our arguments and proposals. I want to thank President Trump for the constructive talks between our teams.”
Russia Must Respond ‘Clearly’
Since the US aid freeze, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and reclaimed land in Russia’s Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces had infiltrated. Just hours before the Jeddah talks, Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Moscow, killing three people.
Top Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak reiterated Ukraine’s desire for peace: “Russia needs to say very clearly whether they want peace or not, whether they want to end this war, which they started, or not.”
Trump’s shift in policy has unsettled European allies. France and Germany have begun discussing a common European defense strategy, anticipating reduced US security guarantees through NATO. However, Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz defended the president’s actions, crediting him with shifting global focus toward peace negotiations.
“We’ve moved the conversation from whether the war will end to how it will end,” Waltz said. He commended Ukraine for its willingness to “end the tragic meat-grinder of people and national treasure.”
Allies Remain Cautious
Rubio is set to visit Canada next to meet with G7 foreign ministers, pushing them to avoid “antagonistic” language toward Russia to keep diplomatic channels open. In Poland, a strong backer of Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk praised the US-Ukraine ceasefire initiative as an “important step toward peace.”
Even if Russia agrees to the ceasefire, significant hurdles remain. Ukraine seeks long-term security guarantees, though Trump has ruled out NATO membership, diverging from Biden’s previous stance.
Talks in Jeddah touched on “substantive details” regarding Ukraine’s future security, Waltz said, and French President Emmanuel Macron has called for “credible security guarantees” to accompany any ceasefire agreement.
The world now waits for Russia’s response.