JEDDAH, March 12 — The United States agreed yesterday to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after talks where Kyiv said it would accept a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict with Russia, the countries said in a joint statement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would now take the offer to Russia, and the ball is in Moscow's court.
"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, after more than eight hours of talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, and Russia, which has been making advances, now holds around a fifth of Ukraine's territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Rubio said Washington wanted a full 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.
How Moscow would respond was far from certain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is open to discussing a peace deal, but he and his diplomats have repeatedly stated they are against a ceasefire and would seek a deal that safeguards Russia's "long-term security." Putin has ruled out territorial concessions and said Ukraine must withdraw fully from four Ukrainian regions claimed and partly controlled by Russia.
Yesterday, Russia's foreign ministry said 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 talks, said the ceasefire was a "positive proposal" that covers the frontline in the conflict, not just fighting by air and sea.
The Ukrainian leader said the ceasefire would take effect as soon as Russia agreed.
— Reuters
