US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the US would contact Russia that day about a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. Ukraine agreed to the US proposal during talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Marco Rubio said that the US hopes for a positive response from Moscow and “strongly urge the Russians to end hostilities”. He added that “there is no military solution to this conflict”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview that Russia would avoid compromises that would endanger people’s lives. He also reiterated that his country would, under no circumstance, accept the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine if a lasting peace agreement was reached.

Moscow Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, quoted by Reuters, said Russia would “take its own decisions” on the conflict in Ukraine.

The US Secretary of State announced that he had already made contact with the Russian side after a meeting in Saudi Arabia. 

The talks with the Russian side are expected to address a proposal the US made to Ukraine during nearly nine hours of talks in Jeddah. The offered solution involves a 30-day immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. 

In a joint US-Ukrainian statement published after the talks, the countries reported that “the US will communicate to Russia that reciprocity on the Russian side is key to achieving peace”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski said the proposed ceasefire applies to actions in the air, on sea and along the entire battle line.

“Ukraine accepts this proposal, we consider it positive. We are ready to take such a step, and the US has to convince Russia to comply. This means that we agree, and if the Russians agree, the ceasefire will take effect immediately,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Source: PAP

Photo: @Biz_Ukraine_Mag

Tomasz Modrzejewski