Diplomatic breakthrough as Ukraine agrees 30-day ceasefire in talks with US | BBC News

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 12:12:27 +0000

Ukraine has said it is ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia proposed by the US, after a day of US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would present the offer to Russia and that "the ball is in their court".

Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky said it was now up to the US to convince Russia to agree to the "positive" proposal.

The talks in Jeddah were the first official meeting between the two countries since the extraordinary clash between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

In a joint statement, the US also said it would immediately restart intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine, which Washington had suspended after the unprecedented meeting.

"Both delegations agreed to name their negotiating teams and immediately begin negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine's long-term security," the US-Ukraine statement said.

Rubio told a press conference in Jeddah late on Tuesday that he hoped Russia would accept the proposal. Ukraine was "ready to stop shooting and start talking," he said, and if Russia rejected the offer "then we'll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here".

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Tom Bateman, James Waterhouse, Steve Rosenberg and Sarah Smith.

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