State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Monday that ‘the ball is now in Russia’s court’ to accept a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal that Ukraine agreed to last week.
The U.S.-backed proposal, which includes an immediate 30-day ceasefire and guaranteed resumption of U.S. military aid and intelligence to Ukraine, was finalized during diplomatic talks in Saudi Arabia last week.
‘Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate interim 30-day ceasefire to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The ball is now in Russia’s court,’ Bruce said during the State Department’s second briefing of Trump’s second term. ‘Following this historic meeting, Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio traveled to the G7 in Canada, where our partners expressed support for a swift and a durable end to this conflict.’
After President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Putin said during a news conference that he agreed with the truce in principle, noting, ‘The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it.’ Meanwhile, Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Waltz, said following the meeting that there is ‘cautious optimism’ a ceasefire could be close at hand.
While a ceasefire appears imminent, Russia and Ukraine still need to resolve key disagreements before finalizing the deal.
These include negotiations related to Ukraine’s entrance into NATO — which Russia has said is a non-starter — territorial integrity disputes and security guarantees, such as whether NATO peacekeeping troops will be allowed in Ukraine to maintain the ceasefire. Potential prisoner swaps will also need to be ironed out between the two warring nations.
Trump has also signaled that control of certain land and power plants in Ukraine would also be part of the negotiations.
While Trump and his team have expressed optimism about the deal, GOP South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said only ‘time will tell’ whether Putin plans on ‘deceiving us.’