Ukraine has said it is ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States with Russia, a day after US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the proposal would be presented to Russia and that “the ball is in their court”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was now up to the United States to convince Russia to agree to the “positive” proposal.
Tuesday’s talks in Jeddah were the first official meeting between the two countries since an unusual standoff between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on February 28.
The United States said in a joint statement that Washington would immediately resume intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine, which had been suspended after an unprecedented public standoff at the White House.
“Both delegations agreed to name their negotiating teams and begin negotiations immediately for a lasting peace that provides for the long-term security of Ukraine,” the US-Ukraine statement said.
Rubio told a news conference in Jeddah late on Tuesday that he hoped Russia would accept the proposal.
He said Ukraine was “ready to stop shooting and talk,” adding that if Russia rejected the proposal, “we will find out what the obstacle to peace is.”
“Today we have made a proposal that the Ukrainians have accepted, namely a ceasefire and immediate negotiations,” he said.
“Now we will hand this proposal over to the Russians, and we hope that they will say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court,” he added.
The proposal for a 30-day ceasefire goes beyond Zelensky’s proposal for a partial ceasefire in the air and at sea.
The Ukrainian president thanked Trump for the “productiveness” of the talks in Jeddah.
In a video message, Zelensky said Russia must “show its willingness to stop the war or continue it.”
“It is time for the whole truth,” he added.
The Kremlin has yet to respond publicly. It said it would issue a statement on Tuesday after being briefed by Washington on the outcome of the talks.
But influential Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev said any potential deal would be “on our terms, not American terms.”
Kosachev, chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, said “the real agreements are still being written… at the front” and stressed that Russian troops were advancing in Ukraine.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
At the White House, Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who “hopefully” agreed to the proposal.
“As they say, it takes two to tango,” Trump said, adding that he hoped to reach an agreement in the coming days.
“We’re having a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and hopefully there will be some good conversations.”
He said he was open to inviting Zelensky back to Washington.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia had not ruled out talks with U.S. representatives in the coming days, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported.
Asked by a reporter if Trump and Zelensky’s relationship was “back on track,” Rubio said he hoped it was “peace” that was back on track.
“This is not Mean Girls, this is not an episode of a TV show,” he said.
“Today people will die in this war, yesterday people will die, and — sadly — if there is no ceasefire, people will die tomorrow.”
U.S. and Ukrainian teams met after at least three people were killed in drone strikes overnight near Moscow. Russia said Ukraine refused to use diplomacy to end the war.
