The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on March 11, 2025 | Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
Ukraine has agreed to a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia in exchange for resumption of suspended military aid and intelligence after talks between the two countries in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Trump’s Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff held talks in Jeddah with Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
A joint statement issued by the two sides after the meeting in Jeddah, said ‘Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, 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 meeting came after a week of U.S. strong-arming Ukraine by suspending military aid supplies and cutting off intelligence inputs including satellite imagery in addition to reportedly turning off certain electronic warfare capabilities on the F-16 fighter aircraft supplied to Ukraine by its European allies.
The joint statement out of Jeddah said, ‘The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.’
These were the first talks between them ties between the two countries were viciously damaged when U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance verbally ambushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House in a stunning breach of diplomatic decorum on February 28th. Zelenskyy and his team were asked to leave without signing the deal for the exploitation of mineral resources in Ukraine — an agreement that the Trump administration has insisted is required in return for continued U.S. support.
Tuesday’s talks in Jeddah were supposed to thrash out the contours of a revised deal on Ukraine’s natural resources and the Trump administration was reported last week to be disinclined to link this deal to security guarantees for Ukraine and maintained its insistence on Ukraine conceding territories to Russia, stay out of NATO, and for Zelenskyy to resign and hold elections.
The joint statement concluded by saying ‘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, offset the cost of American assistance, and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.’
The meeting took place after a weekend over which Russian special forces apparently walked 15 kilometres through a currently inactive gas pipeline to make a sneak attack on Ukrainian troops in the strategically important border town of Sudzha inside the Kursk region of Russia which was invaded by the Ukrainian military in August last year, taking a thousand square kilometres of territory.
Ukrainian positions inside Russia’s Kursk region are a major bargaining chip for it at any table negotiating a ceasefire.
Russian forces have launched renewed attacks on Ukrainian cities since the White House drama eleven days back. Ukraine launched a mass drone attack inside Russia in the run-up to the talks in Jeddah.
The joint statement out of Jeddah also said ‘The Ukrainian delegation reiterated that European partners shall be involved in the peace process.’
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