Ukraine has agreed to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire deal with Russia following meetings with US officials in Saudi Arabia. Now, the ball is in Russia’s court to accept the deal.
After more than eight hours of meetings, officials from Ukraine and the US agreed on a proposal for an interim 30-day ceasefire that could potentially be extended, pending on a mutual agreement and acceptance by Russia. As a result, the US has also agreed to immediately resume sharing intelligence information with Ukraine.
“The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace,” the two parties said in a joint statement, per AAP.
“The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.”
While President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Saudi Arabia, he did not participate in the talks with US officials. However, he has stated that he is supportive of the ceasefire proposal.
“Our position remains absolutely clear: Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything to achieve it as soon as possible and in a reliable way—so that war does not return,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“Ukraine is ready to accept this proposal—we see it as a positive step and are ready to take it. Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same. If Russia agrees, the ceasefire will take effect immediately.”
I received a report from our delegation on their meeting with the American team in Saudi Arabia. The discussion lasted most of the day and was good and constructive—our teams were able to discuss many important details.
Our position remains absolutely clear: Ukraine has been… pic.twitter.com/7EZXTVA52C
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 11, 2025
Now that Ukraine has agreed to the proposal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he will take the offer to Russia.
“We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,” Rubio said.
As seen at the very tense meeting between US President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, the US has been pushing Ukraine into coming to a deal of some sort with Russia to end the war between the countries.
However, since Ukraine accepted the ceasefire offer deal, Trump has reportedly invited Zelenskyy back to the White House for further conversation.
As for Russia? Officials in Moscow have previously rejected proposals for a temporary ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is open to discussing a peace deal.
However, he has previously stated he is not willing to consider territorial concessions. Instead, Ukraine must withdraw fully from the four regions claimed and controlled partly by Russia.
