“Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted.” That was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters after nine hours of talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11, 2025. The offer: a 30-day ceasefire and immediate negotiations with Russia.
Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz sat across from the Ukrainian delegation, and the session ended with a joint US-Ukraine statement. According to RFE/RL, the truce could be extended if both warring sides agree. In return, Washington said it would resume military assistance and intelligence sharing, both of which had been suspended, and press ahead with a minerals deal.
The shift in tone was sharp. On February 28, a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office had broken down before a mineral-sharing framework could be signed. France 24 reported that Zelensky arrived in Jeddah ready to offer only a partial truce covering the air and the sea. He left having accepted the full month-long pause the Americans wanted.
The ball moves to Moscow
Rubio was blunt about what came next. “We’ll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope they’ll say yes to peace,” he said. “The ball is now in their court.” Zelensky praised the American side for understanding Kyiv’s arguments. Waltz said Ukraine had grasped the need to “end the tragic meat-grinder of people and national treasure.”
Moscow did not rush. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia expected Rubio and Waltz to brief it in the coming days, and he refused to say whether a Trump-Putin call was coming. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Peskov said, according to TRT World. Hours before the Jeddah session began, Ukraine had hit Moscow and its surroundings in a large drone attack.
European leaders cheered. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the outcome a “remarkable breakthrough,” and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described an “important step towards peace.” French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the progress too, but added that Ukraine needs “robust” security guarantees in any ceasefire.
What the statement left out
That last point is the gap analysts seized on. RFE/RL noted that security guarantees, which it called “the holy grail” for Kyiv, were missing from the preliminary statement. Oxana Shevel of Tufts University said she would be surprised if Russia agreed. Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies argued that “Ukraine will have to accept a cease-fire that leaves a quarter of the country in Russian hands,” while calling the restored military aid significant. Russia held almost 20 percent of Ukrainian territory at the time.
Trump said he hoped the war could be settled “over the next few days.” Yermak, Zelensky’s senior aide, put the question to Russia directly: say “very clearly” whether it wants peace.
Sources
- Ukraine accepts US ceasefire proposal, backs immediate negotiations with Russia
- Ball In Russia's Court As Ukraine Agrees To US Cease-Fire Proposal
- Russia seeks details from US on Ukraine truce proposal
