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Topics: US News, World News, Russia, Ukraine, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
American officials have sent a strong message to Russia following the announcement that Ukraine had accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire.
Following talks between the Ukrainian and US delegations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia today (11 March), both countries released a joint statement today saying there had been 'important steps toward restoring durable peace' in the Eastern European country.
"Representatives of both nations praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people in defence of their nation and agreed that now is the time to begin a process toward lasting peace," the statement read.
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"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 the Russian Federation. The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has now told the media that it is now up to Russia to accept the interim ceasefire terms.
"Hopefully we'll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope that they'll say yes, they'll say yes to peace," Rubio told reporters.
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"The ball is now in their court, but again the president's objective here number one above everything else he wants the war to end, and I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard. We hope the Russians will reciprocate."
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz added that he would be speaking to his Russian counterpart in a couple of days.
Earlier today a joint statement was released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's website, which stated that US and Ukrainian delegations had engaged in productive talks mediated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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The statement included confirmation that:
Russia is yet to respond publicly to the joint announcement, however a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry said that Kyiv's recent drone attack was evidence the Ukrainians weren't willing to engage in diplomatic talks.
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"There is no doubt that the drone attack had been planned beforehand and was timed to coincide with today’s US-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia on settling the conflict," the foreign ministry said in a statement (via BBC).
"The Zelensky regime has shown a total lack of political will towards peace and settling the conflict via diplomatic means."
Meanwhile, Russia has continued to attack the eastern regions of Ukraine, with six people - including two children - killed after a recent strike in Donetsk Oblast.