- America and Ukraine engaged in peace talks concerning the end of the Ukraine-Russia war on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.
- Ukraine reportedly agreed to a peace deal Tuesday that includes a delivery of U.S. weapons.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio says both Ukraine and Russia must be prepared to "do difficult things" to end the war.
After eight hours of peace talks on Tuesday, the United States and Ukraine reached a resolution for a 30-day ceasefire. Russia must still agree to the deal before it would be implemented.
In exchange for Ukraine’s commitment to peace in the sky, the sea and on the front line, America will resume providing weapons and intelligence to Ukraine, per The Telegraph.
The talks took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, far from where fighting is ongoing in Ukraine and Russia.
On Monday, Russia had resumed its near-nightly drone strikes on Ukraine, while Ukraine launched its own enormous wave of drones against Russia, per NBC News.
Ukraine’s defenses downed 114 drones. Russia downed 337 sent its way, many of which targeted Russian transportation and oil production.
Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has committed to America’s ceasefire proposal, it is unclear if Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree.
A joint statement released by Ukraine and the United States after the talks, which were facilitated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Zelenskyy, specified that the U.S will negotiate with Russia on behalf of the ceasefire agreement.
“The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace,” the joint statement said.
What it will take to achieve peace
Rubio said that the administration believes the Russia-Ukraine conflict has devolved into a war of attrition, meaning neither side can win substantially or swiftly and that, without peace talks, the war will continue to grind on slowly.
Before the talks, Ukraine had expressed its desire to be “fully constructive” and compliant with the United States in order to achieve a ceasefire deal.
“We’re ready to do everything to achieve peace,” said Ukrainian delegate Andriy Yermak, per The Washington Post.
Zelenskyy stated his willingness to give up Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s claim to NATO membership and even sacrifice his own position as Ukrainian president “in order to secure a just and sustainable peace,” reported Newsweek.
But what about Russia — is Putin willing to make any concessions?
On March 6, Putin established that he expects large swaths of Ukrainian territory, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, and also rejected any plans that involved freezing front-line conflict.
“We must choose for ourselves a peace option that would suit us and that would ensure peace for our country over the long-term historical perspective,” he told Russians.
Meanwhile, as Americans and Ukrainians conclude negotiations, Russians and Ukrainians continue to sift through destroyed buildings, per media reports.
Ukrainian-American relations
Earlier this month, the United States suspended all military and offensive intelligence support to Ukraine, while maintaining defensive intelligence support.
The White House pulled back resources from Ukraine after President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy engaged in a tense exchange in the Oval Office last week.
Today’s success in Jeddah signifies an improvement in Ukrainian-American relations, answering Rubio’s hope.
“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things,” Rubio said about the meeting. “(Similarly) the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form.”
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has also stated that Washington hopes to finally achieve the critical minerals deal with Ukraine at the meeting in Jeddah.
“All the signs are very, very positive,” Witkoff said about the minerals deal.
Both Zelenskyy and Trump agreed at the meeting to create, “as soon as possible,” an agreement to develop Ukraine’s mineral resources, thereby expanding Ukraine’s economy while also benefiting the US.
As Trump’s ire towards Ukraine seems to fade, so does his goodwill towards Russia.
As the Deseret News previously reported, Trump recently expressed willingness to sanction Russia economically.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!” Trump posted to Truth Social on March 7.