The United States will resume providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine after it agreed to a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war against Russia.
Ukraine agreed to the Trump administration’s proposal during talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio led negotiations for the United States, and the two sides issued a joint statement afterward that said the proposal would be presented 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 after the talks, according to NPR. “I hope they’re going to say yes. And if they do, then I think we’ve made great progress. If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”
The negotiations in Jeddah also touched on other topics, such as humanitarian assistance and an exchange of prisoners.
“The delegations also discussed the importance of humanitarian relief efforts as part of the peace process, particularly during the abovementioned ceasefire, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children,” The joint statement said.
“[B]oth 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,” the statement said.
The United States cut off assistance to Ukraine after a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ended in a chaotic argument between the two leaders and U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Zelensky traveled to D.C. and met with Trump on February 28 under the auspices of signing a minerals agreement.
Zelensky pushed Trump to offer security guarantees to Ukraine during a press conference with reporters, leading to a chaotic end to the meeting and Zelensky returning to Ukraine empty handed.
Amid fallout from the meeting, the Ukrainian president days later said he was willing to sign the minerals deal without other preconditions.
