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The United States agreed on Tuesday to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine immediately after talks in Saudi Arabia in which Kyiv voiced readiness to accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day cease-fire in its conflict with Russia, the countries said in a joint statement.
The Trump administration imposed the measures a week ago to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would now take the offer to the Russians, and that the ball is now in Moscow's court.
"The President wanted this war to end yesterday... So our hope is that the Russians will answer 'yes' as quickly as possible, so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations," Rubio told reporters, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump, after the statement was issued.
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Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump
(Photo: AP Photo / Dmitry Serebryakov / Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP , Mandel Ngan / AFP)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Saudi Arabia but did not participate in the talks, said the cease-fire was a "positive proposal," that covers the frontline in the conflict, not just fighting by air and sea.
The two sides also said Washington and Kyiv agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine's critical mineral resources, a deal that has been in the works for weeks and was thrown into limbo by an acrimonious White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky last week. Zelensky said the two countries would work to finalize the minerals agreement.
National security adviser Mike Waltz said that "the Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump's vision for peace."
Waltz said negotiators "got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end," including long-term security guarantees.
The announcements emerged as senior officials from Ukraine and the United States opened talks in Saudi Arabia focused on ending Moscow's three-year war against Kyiv. The discussions started only hours after Russia shot down over 300 Ukrainian drones. It was Ukraine's biggest attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
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President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. The person cautioned that scheduling could change.
Earlier in the day, journalists were briefly allowed in a room where a senior Ukrainian delegation met with Rubio, who smiled at the cameras and when asked about his expectations for the meeting, gave a thumbs-up and replied, "Good."
Across the table, Ukrainian officials, including the country's top diplomat and defense chief, showed no facial expressions as the meeting got underway at a luxury hotel. However, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak told reporters that the most important thing was "how to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine." He said security guarantees were important to prevent Russia from invading again in the future.
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US President Donald Trump attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting at the White House
(Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP)
It was the first meeting between the two sides since the Oval Office blowup between Trump and Zelensky last month.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister was also on hand as American, Saudi and Ukrainian flags could be seen in the background. Officials did not answer any of the journalists' shouted questions.
The delegations met for about three hours in the morning before taking a break, and officials said the talks continued in the afternoon.
There was also no immediate comment from Ukrainian or U.S. officials on the massive attack in which 343 drones targeted 10 Russian regions, leaving three people dead and 18 wounded, including three children, officials said.
The Kremlin is sticking to its conditions for peace
The Kremlin has not publicly offered any concessions. Russia has said it's ready to cease hostilities on condition that Ukraine drops its bid to join NATO and recognizes regions that Moscow occupies as Russian. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory.
Russian forces have held the battlefield momentum for more than a year, though at a high cost in infantry and armor, and are pushing at selected points along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, against Ukraine's understrength and weary army.
Ukraine has invested heavily in developing its arms industry, especially high-tech drones that have reached deep into Russia.
This is the full text of the joint U.S.-Ukrainian statement that was published after bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on Tuesday:
Today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - under the gracious hospitality of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - the United States and Ukraine took important steps toward restoring durable peace for Ukraine.
Representatives of both nations praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people in defense of their nation and agreed that now is the time to begin a process toward lasting peace.
The Ukrainian delegation reiterated the Ukrainian people's strong gratitude to President Trump, the U.S. Congress, and the people of the United States for making possible meaningful progress toward peace.
Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day cease-fire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation. The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.
The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.
The delegations also discussed the importance of humanitarian relief efforts as part of the peace process, particularly during the above-mentioned cease-fire, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.
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 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.
Lastly, both countries' presidents agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine's critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine's economy and guarantee Ukraine's long-term prosperity and security.