Ukraine has agreed to a cease-fire of thirty days in the war with Russia. This is apparent from a joint American-Ukrainian announcement after the consultation in Saudi Jeddah.
It is an American proposal for an “immediate, temporary” ceasefire of thirty days, which can possibly be extended. The proposal still has to be accepted by Russia. “The United States will inform Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieve peace,” says the announcement.
The American Foreign Minister Marco Rubio speaks of a “positive step”. According to him, the ball is now in the Russian camp. “Ukraine is willing to stop shooting and start talking. Now it is up to them to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I hope they will say yes. If they do that, we have made a lot of progress. If they say no, we unfortunately know where the obstacle to peace is. Our hope is that the Russians will say yes as quickly as possible, so that we can move to the next phase, being real negotiations. ”
Trumps national security adviser Mike Waltz will consult “in the coming days” with Russia.
American support resume
The intention is also to exchange prisoners during the ceasefire. In exchange, Washington will immediately resume military aid to Ukraine and also share intelligence again. The deal about the extraction of the rare Ukrainian earth minerals will also be drawn “as quickly as possible”.
According to Waltz, the “permanent end” of the conflict was also discussed, just like “the kind of guarantees” that Ukraine will get for their long -term safety.
The announcement comes after a consultation that took more than eight hours. It was the first encounter since the American and Ukrainian presidents, Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelenski, going to bicker in the Oval Office at the end of February.