The United States agreed on Tuesday to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv expressed support for Washington’s proposal of a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, according to a joint statement from both countries.
Following over eight hours of talks with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would now present the offer to Russia, placing the next move in Moscow’s hands.
“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, referring to US President Donald Trump.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago and currently controls around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Recent Russian advances have strengthened Moscow’s position on the battlefield.
Rubio stated that Washington sought a comprehensive agreement with both Russia and Ukraine “as soon as possible.”
“Every day that goes by, this war continues, people die, people are bombed, people are hurt on both sides of this conflict,” he said.
However, Moscow’s response remains uncertain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signalled openness to discussing a peace deal but has consistently opposed a ceasefire, insisting that any agreement must secure Russia’s long-term security interests.
On January 20, Putin told his Security Council that there “should not be a short truce, not some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament with the aim of subsequently continuing the conflict, but a long-term peace.”
He has also ruled out territorial concessions and demanded Ukraine’s full withdrawal from four regions that Russia claims and partially controls.
“Any agreements – with all the understanding of the need for compromise – on our terms, not on American,” an influential Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday.
The Russian foreign ministry, responding to the US-Ukraine talks, stated only that it did not rule out contacts with US representatives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was in Saudi Arabia but did not participate in the discussions, described the ceasefire as a “positive proposal” covering the frontline conflict rather than just air and sea operations.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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