Russia cautious, wants details of Jeddah deal from US before considering peace

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was awaiting details from Washington about a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, while senior Moscow sources said a deal would have to take account of Russia's advances and address its concerns.

After Russian forces made gains in 2024, US President Donald Trump reversed U.S. policy on the war, launching bilateral talks with Moscow and suspending military assistance to Ukraine, demanding that it take steps to end the conflict.

The United States agreed on Tuesday to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing after Kyiv said at talks in Saudi Arabia that it was ready to support a ceasefire proposal.

The Kremlin said it was carefully studying the results of the meeting and would await details from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested a reporter was getting “a little ahead” of himself by asking if Russia intended to tie a ceasefire proposal to the lifting of international sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

“Rubio and Waltz said they would pass on detailed information to us through various channels about the essence of the conversation that took place in Jeddah. First, we must receive this information,” Peskov said. Rubio said the United States was hoping for a positive response, and that if the answer was ‘no’ then it would tell Washington a lot about the Kremlin’s true intentions.

He said there would be contacts with Moscow on Wednesday, that Europe would have to be involved in any security guarantee for Ukraine, and that the sanctions Europe has imposed would also be on the table.

‘Can be used to draft broader peace plan’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday hailed a meeting between the US and Ukraine this week aimed at ending Russia's invasion and said a proposed ceasefire could be used to draft a broader peace deal. “I am very serious (about a ceasefire) and for me it is important to end the war,” Zelenskyy said during a briefing in Kyiv, where he described the resumption of US aid and intelligence as very positive. He added the Jeddah meeting had helped “de-escalate” tensions between the US and Ukraine.