‘Hopefully, President Putin will agree too’: Donald Trump after Ukraine accepts 30-day ceasefire plan with Russia

US President Donald Trump has welcomed Ukraine agreeing to the ceasefire after the peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while affirming hope that Russia will also agree to it.

“Ukraine, ceasefire, just agreed to a little while ago. Now we have to go to Russia and hopefully President Putin will agree to that also and we can get this show on the road. We can get this horrible war…I get the reports and they’re not American soldiers. They’re Ukrainian and they’re Russian. But, people are being killed outside of that. People are being killed in the cities as things explode throughout the cities and we want to get that war over with,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday (local time).

Trump’s statement came after Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an “immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire,” which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by Russia.

Soldiers of both Russia and Ukraine are being killed in this “horrible war”, Trump said, adding reaching a ceasefire is “very important”.

“So, I think it’s very big. I think it’s a big difference between the last visit you saw at the Oval Office and so that’s a total ceasefire, Ukraine has agreed to it, and hopefully Russia will agree to it. We’re going to meet with him later on today and tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be able to wipe out a deal. But I think the ceasefire is very important. If we can get Russia to do it, that’ll be great. If we can’t, we just keep going on and people are going to get killed, lots of people,” said President Trump, as quoted by news agency ANI.

The US will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.

“The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace. The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine,” the joint statement released following the United States-Ukraine Meeting in Jeddah read.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed Trump’s leadership for Ukraine’s decision to agree to a ceasefire and said the ball is in the “Russian court.”

One step closer to restoring durable peace: Rubio

“Today was a good day for peace. Thanks to POTUS’s leadership and under the gracious hospitality of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, we are one step closer to restoring durable peace for Ukraine. The ball is now in Russia’s court,” Rubio stated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also expressed Kyiv’s willingness to accept the proposal and termed it a “positive step.” He stated that the ceasefire would take effect ‘immediately’ if Russia agreed to it.

In a post on X, Zelensky stated, “I received a report from our delegation on their meeting with the American team in Saudi Arabia. The discussion lasted most of the day and was good and constructive–our teams were able to discuss many important details. Our position remains absolutely clear: Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything to achieve it as soon as possible and in a reliable way–so that war does not return.”

Last week, Trump said that he has received a letter from his counterpart President Volodymyr Zelensky, where he expressed Ukraine’s readiness to come to a negotiating table to bring lasting peace closer. Trump said that Zelenskyy also expressed Ukraine’s willingness to sign the agreement on minerals and security.

The Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Russia, which has been making advances, now holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, Reuters reported. Russia has previously ruled out territorial concessions and said Ukraine must withdraw fully from four of its regions claimed and partly controlled by Russia, according to the report.

Addressing a joint session of Congress, Trump said that he appreciated the letter he received from Zelensky. He stated that his administration had a serious discussion with Russia and they have strong signals that Moscow is ready for peace.