The United States has lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine following talks with the European country in Saudi Arabia.
Tuesday’s talks were centred around charting a path to ending the war with Russia.
In a joint statement after the deliberations, Ukraine said it was ready to accept a US proposal for an initial 30-day ceasefire with Russia, subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Kremlin.
“The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace,” the statement reads.
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Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, said he “will take the offer to Moscow,” adding that “the ball is in their court”.
Rubio expressed hope that Russia would agree to the ceasefire, “but if they don’t, we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here”.
“Today people will die in this war, they died yesterday and – sadly – unless there’s a ceasefire, they will die tomorrow,” he added.
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The secretary of state clarified that “the offer is to stop the shooting,” going beyond Zelensky’s proposal for a partial truce in the sea and sky.
The White House described the meeting between US and Ukrainian officials as “positive” and “productive”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the US “must convince” Russia to agree to the proposal.
“Ukraine is ready for peace. Russia must show its readiness to end the war or continue the war. It is time for the full truth,” Zelensky said in a video.
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The meeting’s outcomes signal an improvement in the US-Ukraine relations after a contentious meeting between Zelensky and Donald Trump, US president, ended in a shouting match.
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