According to a joint statement released by officials Tuesday evening, Ukraine has agreed to accept a 30-day immediate ceasefire in Russia’s ongoing invasion of the eastern European nation, provided Moscow agrees to the same terms.
Ukraine expressed readiness to embrace the US suggestion to enact a 30-day interim ceasefire immediately, “which can be raised by consent of the parties and which is conditioned on acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation,” the joint statement from the United States and Ukraine said following the Jeddah talks.
In order to establish a lasting peace that ensures Ukraine’s long-term security, the two delegations decided to designate their negotiating teams and start talks right now.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that “the ball is in the (Russians’) court” and that if the Kremlin rejects the plan, “we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace.” Rubio will now take the idea to Moscow.
With the agreement, the US and Ukraine have signaled that they are now on the same side in the current negotiations, which represents a dramatic shift in tone between the two nations. Following the negotiations, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, declared that “today we demonstrated to the world we want peace, a just and lasting peace.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who did not attend the meeting with Saudi Arabia Tuesday night, said in a statement that Washington “accepts our proposals and understands (Ukraine’s) arguments.
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