Kremlin 'studying' Ukraine-US ceasefire proposal

By Linda Bordoni

The Ukrainian President has hailed the meeting in Saudi Arabia between U.S. and Ukrainian officials, describing it as constructive.

Speaking during a briefing in Kiev on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a potential 30-day ceasefire with Russia could be used to draft a broader peace deal.

He also affirmed that Ukraine supports the U.S. effort to end Russia's invasion as soon as possible and that the resumption of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing was very positive.

The US agreed on Tuesday to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, which had been suspended after President Trump demanded that Ukraine take steps to end the conflict.

Meanwhile, Zelensky revealed that the ceasefire proposal accepted by Ukraine covers the entire front line of the fighting with Russia, not just the air and sea.

He said Ukraine is ready to take such a step, and now the United States must convince Russia to do so, adding that the ceasefire would start the moment Moscow agrees to it.

Speaking after the over 8-hour meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the onus is now on Russia to take steps to end the war. “We hope that they’ll say yes, that they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court.”

Rubio added that Europe would have to be involved in any security guarantee for Ukraine and that the sanctions Europe has imposed would also be on the table.

Trump-Putin to talk soon

US President Donald Trump later welcomed the news and vowed to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the plan, potentially this week.

As recently as January, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and reaffirmed his desire for a long-time peace accord rather a respite.

But analysts note his wish for close ties with Donald Trump complicate things for him as Trump says he wants to end the war as soon as possible, while Putin has signaled he will not stop fighting until he extracts major concessions from the West and from Kyiv, including a pledge that Ukraine will not join NATO and that the alliance will reduce its presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

For three years, Pope Francis has tirelessly decried the war, expressed his closeness to the “tormented Ukraine”, and appealed for a mediated solution to the conflict.

Russia's wide-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West in six decades.

(Source: Reuters and other news agencies)