Ukraine, USA push for truce; Russia urged to reciprocate
Are the negotiation agreements between the USA and Ukraine, held on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, the first step towards peace in Ukraine? "If Putin does not stop his aggression, there will be no agreement. The aggressor must cease attacks, not the defender who must stop defending," says Prof. Maciej Milczanowski from the University of Rzeszów.
"In reality, we do not know what was agreed upon behind the scenes. What has been officially stated is currently favorable for Ukraine. However, negotiations are still ongoing. A first step towards a ceasefire was taken in Saudi Arabia. Russia's reactions are negative, so we will see what happens next," assesses Prof. Maciej Milczanowski, deputy director of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Rzeszów, security expert.
In a joint statement after Tuesday's talks in Saudi Arabia, the USA and Ukraine expressed their readiness to accept the US proposal for implementing an immediate, temporary 30-day ceasefire. Additionally, the USA will promptly resume exchanging information, intelligence, and military support for Ukraine.
"Ukraine has expressed readiness to accept the US proposal for implementing an immediate, temporary 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended with mutual consent of both parties and is subject to acceptance and simultaneous implementation by the Russian Federation," reads the statement published by the diplomatic departments of both countries after nearly nine hours of talks at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jeddah. "The United States will communicate to Russia that reciprocity on the Russian side is key to achieving peace", it added.
The document also emphasized that the United States "will immediately lift the pause on intelligence exchange and resume security assistance to Ukraine."
"For Trump, business is important"
"Remember, Russia is the aggressor in this war. If Putin does not stop his aggression, there will be no agreement. The aggressor must stop the attacks, not the defender who must stop defending. Russia should declare a ceasefire, and Kyiv should respond. This has been turned upside down. The Kremlin does not want this ceasefire despite these arrangements," evaluates Prof. Milczanowski.
He emphasizes that business remains vital for Trump. "Trump says that the humbling of Kyiv or empathy in politics is unimportant to him. What's important is business and fulfilling electoral promises. What matters is who proposes what to whom, not that someone apologizes and begs for mercy," comments the expert.
According to Prof. Milczanowski, Ukraine probably agreed to cede some territories. Kyiv knows it cannot reclaim them, and there is little chance of that. So, to achieve success in negotiations, the Ukrainians probably agreed to territorial concessions. Our interlocutor believes Zelensky reluctantly agreed with Donald Trump's administration.
"They are not toy soldiers"
According to the interviewee, the problem is that Russia wants control over Ukraine. "Up until now, the White House has not understood this. The fact that Putin wants to strip Ukraine of its sovereignty completely. This is what Russia is fighting for. Territories are there to humiliate Kyiv. To show that Putin is effective and skilled, while Zelensky is unnecessarily rebelling," says the scientist.
According to Prof. Milczanowski, Ukraine wanted to unblock the supply of weapons from the USA, intelligence data, and satellite images by sitting at the negotiation table. And they achieved that. "That's why they probably agreed to hand over some territories. Which ones? This will become clear after the USA-Russia talks."
"Remember that from a military perspective, if the Americans provide support in the form of weapon supplies and intelligence data, these are not toy soldiers we play with on the floor. Every such decision has long-term consequences. The Ukrainians have apologized, the Ukrainians have humbled themselves. This is an extension of the hand by Zelensky," adds the source.
After the meeting ended in Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that now "the ball is in Russia's court" and added that he expects Moscow to consent to the truce as a gesture of goodwill.
Rubio emphasized that the proposal would now be presented to Russia, hoping they would agree and choose peace. He noted that the decision now rests with Russia and reiterated that the president's primary objective is to end the war. He highlighted Ukraine's concrete step toward this goal and expressed optimism that Russia would respond quickly. If they refuse, he added, it would reveal the real obstacle to achieving peace.
"In these negotiations, traditional politics are no longer present. Now there is dialogue with Trump. The one who understands this faster will negotiate better terms to end the war," summarizes Prof. Milczanowski.
Let us remind you that after the talks in Saudi Arabia, Russia announced that it would make its own decisions regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow previously claimed that it was ready for a ceasefire if Ukraine renounces NATO membership and accepts the incorporation of regions taken by Russian forces into the Russian Federation.
Meanwhile, the US State Department stated, "President Donald Trump is determined to end the war as soon as possible and that all parties must take action to ensure lasting peace."
