Ukraine has said it is ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia proposed by the US after a day of US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would present the offer to Russia and that “the ball is in their court.” Moscow has yet to comment on the issue publicly.
Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky said it was now up to the US to convince Russia to agree to the “positive” proposal.
Tuesday’s talks in Jeddah were the first official meeting between the two countries since the extraordinary clash between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on 28 February.
In a joint statement, the US also said it would immediately restart intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine, which Washington had suspended after the unprecedented public row at the White House.
“Both delegations agreed to name their negotiating teams and immediately begin negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine’s long-term security,” the US-Ukraine statement said.
Rubio told a press conference in Jeddah late on Tuesday that he hoped Russia would accept the proposal.
Ukraine was “ready to stop shooting and start talking,” he said, and if Russia rejected the offer “, then we’ll, unfortunately, know what the impediment is to peace here”.
“Today, we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and immediate negotiations,” he said.
“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,” he added.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was at the Jeddah talks, is due to travel to Russia in the coming days, a source familiar with the planning told the BBC, although this could change quickly.
The offer of a 30-day ceasefire goes beyond Zelensky’s proposal for a partial truce in the sky and at sea.
The Ukrainian president thanked Trump for “the constructiveness” of the talks in Jeddah.
In a video message, Zelensky said Russia had to “show its willingness to stop the war or continue it”. “It is time for the full truth,” he added.
The Kremlin has not yet publicly responded. It said earlier on Tuesday that it would state after Washington briefed it on the outcome of the talks.
However, influential Russian lawmaker Kostantin Kosachev said potential agreements would be “on our terms, not American”.
Kosachev, chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, said, “Real agreements are still being written… at the front”, stressing that Russian troops were advancing in Ukraine.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
At the White House, Trump told reporters he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would “hopefully” agree to the proposal.
“It takes two to tango, as they say,” Trump said, hoping the deal would be agreed upon in the next few days.
“We have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and hopefully, some great conversations will ensue.”
Ukraine has offered to grant the US access to its rare earth mineral reserves in exchange for US security guarantees – but the White House row derailed this.
Rubio said the deal was not the subject of Tuesday’s talks but had been negotiated with Ukrainian and US treasuries.
The US delegation in Jeddah also included US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
The joint US-Ukraine statement said Kyiv had “reiterated” that Europe should be involved in any peace process.
The shift in America’s approach to the war – including locking Europe out of talks – has prompted several emergency meetings between European leaders in recent weeks.
The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc welcomed Tuesday’s “positive development”.
Achieving a swift end to the war in Ukraine has been a key pledge for the US president.
He has increased his pressure on Zelensky to accept a ceasefire without offering the immediate security guarantees the Ukrainian president insisted upon.
On Friday, Trump issued a rare threat of further sanctions against Moscow to push for a deal. Russia is already heavily sanctioned by the US over the war.
Trump said he was contemplating the move because “Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now”.
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