Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire with Russia as President Donald Trump lifts a pause on military aid and intelligence sharing to the country.
‘Today, we’ve made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that’s enduring and sustainable,’ said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Trump administration now plant to present the plan for a temporary ceasefire to Moscow.
‘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.
That will now put the onus on the Kremlin, just days after an angry Oval Office meeting exposed a rupture between President Trump and Ukraine.
Now, following high-stakes meetings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the president is also lifting a military aid and intelligence sharing pause to Ukraine almost two weeks after his disastrous Oval Office meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff made the announcement after meeting with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
‘The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine,’ a document released by Trump’s top diplomats stated.
It went on to say Trump and Zelensky agreed to ‘conclude as soon as possible’ an agreement on the minerals deal.
Witkoff is now planning a trip to Moscow, where he is set to face President Vladimir Putin’s demands and could meet Putin – a turnaround from the diplomatic isolation Putin faced just weeks ago.
The deal will ‘expand Ukraine’s economy, offset the cost of American assistance, and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.’
‘What’s back on track here is, hopefully, is peace. That’s what matters the most,’ said Rubio. ‘This is not Mean Girls, this is not some episode of some television show, this is serious. Today, people will die in this war, they died yesterday and sadly they’ll die tomorrow.’
‘The president wants this to stop. That’s why we came here,’ said Rubio, who added that the Ukrainians are ‘ready to stop fighting.’
His comment appeared to reflect a move away from the highly personal drama inside the White House, where Trump accused Zelensky of not wanting peace, and even expressed solidarity with Putin over the Russia probe of his first term.
‘President Trump is the president of peace,’ Waltz added.
The announcement came after U.S. negotiators sat down with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia for high-pressure talks on ending the three year old war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s 2022 invasion.
