Ukraine supports 30-day ceasefire
Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, placing pressure on the United States to get Russia on board with the proposal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the nation has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal during peace talks with the US.
However, Russia would have to come to the table and agree to the ceasefire for the war to halt.
“Ukraine accepts this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take such a step, and the United States of America must convince Russia to do so,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said the ceasefire would start once Moscow was on board.
The White House also promised to restore intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
“The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine,” a joint US-Ukraine statement said.
The breakthrough is a turnaround from Zelensky’s disastrous meeting with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance at the White House over a week ago.
Ukraine and US officials met in Saudi Arabia for hours on Tuesday (local time) to find a path towards ending the war with Russia.
A joint statement said Ukraine was willing to accept the US proposal for an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire. It could be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, subject to acceptance and implementation by Russia.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would take the offer to the Russian side, and the ball would be in the Kremlin’s court.
“The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace,” the statement said.
The two sides also said the US and Ukraine agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources.
The deal has been in the works for weeks. It was thrown into limbo by the acrimonious White House meeting between Trump, Vance and Zelensky.
