Following talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the United States and Ukraine announced that Kyiv would accept a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, with Washington promising to lift a freeze on intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine.
“Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation,” the US and Ukraine said in a joint statement released by the State Department. “The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”
The agreement was reached after more than eight hours of negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between Ukrainian officials and a US delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The statement stated that the United States “will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.” Both were frozen following an explosive meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump at the White House on February 28.
The now-unfrozen military aid includes approximately $1 billion in equipment approved by the Biden administration but not yet delivered. The Trump administration has the authority to provide an additional $3.8 billion in aid, but no further aid packages have been announced.
Ukraine has been supported by the United States and other Western allies in its fight against Russia since Moscow launched a full-fledged invasion in 2022, and the decision to cut off aid put Kyiv at a disadvantage and European allies on edge.
It is unclear whether Russia will support a ceasefire. Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, intends to visit Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to sources familiar with the plans. Witkoff met with Putin for over three hours in February.
In a press briefing after the meeting, Rubio stated that “the ball is now in [Russia’s] court.”
“We will make this offer now to the Russians. And we hope that they will say yes to peace,” Rubio stated. “The president’s primary goal here is to bring the war to an end, and I believe Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that direction today. We hope the Russians reciprocate.”
The US and Ukraine announced that they would “name their negotiating teams and immediately begin negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine’s long-term security.”
It stated that Trump and Zelenskyy would “conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.”
Washington has been pressuring Kyiv to sign a deal that would give the US access to its mineral reserves, and Zelenskyy has expressed his willingness to sign a deal ahead of the talks.
Rubio led the US delegation to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz. Zelenskyy was in Saudi Arabia at the time of the talks, but did not attend.
Ahead of the talks, a senior Ukrainian official told the US team that Kyiv was ready to strike a peace deal with Russia, and that while Zelenskyy may still want Western security guarantees as part of the deal to deter future Russian aggression, the focus was on “how to start this process.”
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said his delegation’s main message to the US was that “Ukrainians want peace,” and that Ukraine was “ready to go” to achieve that goal.
When asked about security guarantees, Yermak stated that they were “very important,” because they wanted to ensure that this aggression was never repeated in the future. Of course, it is extremely important. But now we believe it is most important to discuss how to begin this process.”
