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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.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would present the offer to Russia and that “the ball is in their court”.<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky said it was now up to the US to convince Russia to agree to the “positive” proposal.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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 meeting.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Rubio told a press conference in Jeddah late on Tuesday that he hoped Russia would accept the proposal.<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
“Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations,” he said.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
The offer of a 30-day ceasefire goes beyond Zelensky’s proposal for a partial truce in the sea and sky. <\/p>\n
The Ukrainian president thanked Trump for “the constructiveness” of the talks in Jeddah.<\/p>\n
In a video message, Zelensky said Russia had to “show its willingness to stop the war or continue the war”.<\/p>\n
“It is time for the full truth,” he added.<\/p>\n
Moscow has not yet responded. The Kremlin said earlier on Tuesday it would issue a statement after being briefed by Washington on the outcome of the talks.<\/p>\n
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.<\/p>\n
At the White House, Trump told reporters President Putin would “hopefully” agree to the proposal. <\/p>\n
He added that he was open to inviting Zelensky back to Washington.<\/p>\n
Asked by a reporter if Trump and Zelensky’s relationship was “back on track,” Rubio said he hoped it was “peace” that was back on track.<\/p>\n
“This is not Mean Girls, this is not some episode of some television show” he said.<\/p>\n
“Today people will die in this war, they died yesterday and – sadly – unless there’s a ceasefire, they will die tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
The US and Ukrainian teams met after overnight drone attacks killed at least three people in Moscow<\/a> – which Russia said showed Ukraine had rejected using diplomacy to end the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Trump and Zelensky have also agreed to finalise “as soon as possible” a critical minerals deal, the joint statement said.<\/p>\n Ukraine has offered to grant the US access to its rare earth mineral reserves in exchange for US security guarantees – but this was derailed by the White House row.<\/p>\n Rubio said the deal had not been the subject of Tuesday’s talks, but had been negotiated with Ukrainian and US treasuries.<\/p>\n The US delegation in Jeddah also included US national security advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.<\/p>\n Witkoff is due to travel to Russia in the coming days, a source familiar with the planning told the BBC, although this could change quickly.<\/p>\n Achieving a swift end to the war in Ukraine has been a key pledge for the US president.<\/p>\n He has placed increasing pressure on Zelensky to accept a ceasefire, without offering the immediate security guarantees insisted upon by the Ukrainian president.<\/p>\n On Friday, Trump issued a rare threat of further sanctions against Moscow in a push for a deal. Russia is already heavily sanctioned by the US over the war.<\/p>\n Trump said he was contemplating the move because “Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now”<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n