On March 11 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine accepted a U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire and enter into immediate negotiations to end the Ukraine-Russia war. That end, said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would be negotiated “in a way that’s enduring, and sustainable and accounts for their interests, their security, their ability to prosper as a nation.”
“We’ll take this offer now to the Russians, and we hope that they’ll say yes, that they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court – but again, the President’s [Trump] objective here is, number one, above everything else, he wants the war to end. And I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard.”
It is now up to Russia to reciprocate, said Secretary Rubio.
“Our hope is that the Russians will say yes, that they will also agree, so that the shooting will stop, the killing will stop, the dying will stop, and the talks can begin about how to end this war permanently in a way that’s acceptable and enduring for both sides,” he said.
“If they [the Russians] say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”
As part of the agreement with Ukraine, the United States will immediately lift its pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz pointed out that President Trump started the diplomatic effort to end the war in the Oval Office “talking to both leaders, both President Putin and President Zelensky, back to back.”
“And now that shuttle diplomacy continues. ... We’ve gone from, if the war is going to end, to now, how the war is going to end. And this was an important first step. And that was under President Trump’s leadership.”
Asked about what goodwill gesture Russia should make, Secretary of State Rubio said, “The goal here is peace. That’s the President’s goal. The best goodwill gesture the Russians can provide is to say yes – to say yes to the offer that the Ukrainians have made to stop the shooting, to stop the fighting, and get to the table.”
