President Trump has said that “the ball is in Russia’s court” to agree to a US peace deal after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenksy, accepted a peace deal in Jeddah.
The deal, brokered in Saudi Arabia, involves an immediate cessation of hostilities – and would facilitate the return of US support to Ukraine.
The US and Ukraine released a joint statement, announcing that the US would “immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine”.
This represents a striking diplomatic turnaround, less than two weeks after Zelensky’s disastrous meeting with the US President and Vice-President in the Oval Office.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, stated “strong gratitude to President Trump” following the talks.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said: “Our hope is that the Russians will answer ‘yes’ as quickly as possible, so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations”.
According to a report in The Times, the deal went further than Ukraine had initially proposed – with a stop to all ground combat, not just sea and air.
In a statement late on Tuesday night, Keir Starmer hailed the deal as a “remarkable breakthrough”.
Borrowing a phrase from the Trump administration, the prime minister added: “As both American and Ukrainian delegations have said, the ball is now in the Russian court. Russia must now agree to a ceasefire to end the fighting too”.
UK defence secretary John Healey is set to meet European leaders in Paris on Wednesday.
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte is set to visit Washington DC on Thursday for a meeting with Trump to shore up US support for the military alliance.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the UK was instrumental in brokering the deal, with national security advisor Jonathan Powell working closely with his US counterpart Mike Waltz.
Starmer added: “We are ready to help bring an end to this war in a just a permanent way that allows Ukraine to enjoy its freedom”.