The United States is seeking Russia to agree to a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Washington’s proposal to Moscow follows Kiev accepting a 30-day ceasefire agreement on Tuesday following negotiations between American and Ukrainian officials at the peace summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“We’ll have contact with [Russia] today, there’s already been contact at different levels with counterparts, different members of the administration, and that will continue,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is carefully studying developments following Tuesday’s peace talks. Peskov noted that the Russian government cannot yet comment on ceasefire proposals agreed upon by the U.S. and Ukraine, also stating that he is against making rushed statements on the matter.
“Previously, Moscow had opposed the idea of a temporary truce in Ukraine and emphasized that a settlement should not serve to provide Kiev with breathing space and an opportunity to rearm itself before resuming hostilities,” RT said Wednesday. “Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that a resolution of the conflict should guarantee long-term peace.”
On Wednesday Rubio strongly encouraged Russia to end all hostilities, also stating that Ukraine is prepared to cease all battlefield activity in exchange for particular actions on the part of Russia. He noted that if Russia fails to accept this ceasefire deal, the U.S. will need to reexamine everything, but that there is no military solution to this conflict.
Following the U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Ukraine had previously sabotaged itself by breaching Russia’s trust in the past. He went on to discuss Ukrainian Dictator Vladimir Zelensky’s ‘hero status’ in Europe and the U.K. but also how the U.S. is returning to normalcy with the Trump administration.
“It’s an indication that they want to raise the stakes and they are preparing something to pressure the Donald Trump administration back into some aggressive action against Russia,” Lavrov said.
Kiev itself seeks security guarantees against future Russia attack, although Rubio did not specify what those may entail, except that European nations may be involved in those guarantees. Russia will likely seek an end to European sanctions and frozen Russian financial assets.
Rubio also stated that Ukraine will likely have to give up some territory to Russia which was lost in the war.
Ukraine’s agreement to a temporary stay in hostilities is accompanied by a resurgence of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing, potentially giving Kiev enough rope to hang itself if those weapons end up being used in violation of the agreement. Resuming U.S. assistance to Ukraine also positions President Trump’s administration as a power player in any further deals with Russia, a political force which is willing to take any steps it deems necessary to accomplish its goals.
Talkshow host Tucker Carlson detailed this geopolitical theory 31-minutes into an interview with Col. Doug Macgregor on Tuesday, however Macgregor denounced the resurgence of U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Both U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian Dictator Vladimir Zelensky have lauded the recent developments in peace negotiations. The British government claims it has ‘helped‘ in reaching this ceasefire deal.
“The U.K. sources say that last week the prime minister’s National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, worked with his U.S. counterpart Mike Waltz, and German and French officials, to fashion a plan for a ceasefire and the steps that might follow,” the BBC said Wednesday.
A ceasefire may be seen as premature by Russia, as Kiev drone bombed sleeping Russian civilians on Tuesday, hours before the ‘peace talks’.