Could the war be coming to an end?
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. and Ukraine have reached a deal for a ceasefire in the war with Russia.
Rubio confirmed the deal following a meeting in Saudia Arabia.
“We’ll take this offer now to the Russians, and we hope that they’ll say yes,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters. “We hope the Russians answer to that. “The best goodwill gesture the Russians can provide is to say yes.”
“This is very serious. Today people will die in this war. They died yesterday, and sadly, unless there’s a ceasefire tonight, they’ll die tomorrow,” Rubio said. “The president wants that to stop.”
“We’ve gone from if this war is going to end to how this war is going to end,” national security advisor Mike Waltz told reporters.
From Fox News:
Issues involving the return of children abducted by Russia and the return of prisoners of war will be addressed in the “second phase” of negotiations, the pair said.
Waltz confirmed that the Trump administration and the Ukrainian delegation discussed “substantive details” on security guarantees to ensure lasting peace between the two nations – though neither Kyiv nor Washington have yet confirmed the elements of those discussions.
“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 readout of the talks said. “The United States committed to discussing these specific proposals with representatives from Russia.
“The Ukrainian delegation reiterated that European partners shall be involved in the peace process,” the readout added.
Rubio said a mineral deal will be discussed at a further date.
“We were here in pursuit of peace,” he told reporters. “That doesn’t mean the mineral deal is not very important.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared the following message on X:
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 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.
At this meeting with the Americans, Ukraine proposed three key points: silence in the skies—stopping missile strikes, bombs, and long-range drone attacks; silence at sea; real confidence-building measures in this whole situation, in which diplomacy is ongoing, which primarily means the release of prisoners of war and detainees—both military and civilian—and the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly transferred to Russia.
The American side understands our arguments and considers our proposals. I am grateful to President Trump for the constructive conversation between our teams.
During today’s talks, the U.S. side proposed taking an even bigger first step—a 30-day full interim ceasefire, not only stopping missile, drone, and bomb attacks, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line.
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.
This story is developing…
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