US says Ukraine 'ready to move forward' on truce demand

According to a senior State Department official, the Trump administration believes the Ukrainian leadership is "ready and willing" to move forward on U.S. proposals for a ceasefire agreement with Russia. This statement suggests the U.S. government's positive view of Ukraine's attitude on this issue.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz are scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia to meet with Ukrainian representatives on Tuesday. The meeting aims to discuss the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and seek possible solutions. The United States hopes to promote consensus between the two sides through high-level talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been increasing pressure on Ukrainian President Zelensky to accept demands for a swift ceasefire with Moscow, but has not immediately committed to providing U.S. security guarantees. Previously, the two had a public clash at the White House, with Trump claiming Zelensky was not ready to end the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin fully invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The State Department official, who asked not to be named, said: "The fact that they [the Ukrainian delegation] are coming here at such a high level is a good sign for us that they are willing to sit down and are ready to move forward." He made the remarks while in Jeddah discussing the talks with Ukraine. Although Zelensky will also travel to the Gulf kingdom to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he is not expected to play any formal role in the talks with the Americans.

The Ukrainian team will be represented by Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's office, the national security advisor, and representatives from the foreign and defense ministries. Zelensky said in a video address late on Sunday: "We want to achieve results - both in terms of promoting peace and in terms of continuing support."

Zelensky has been facing enormous pressure from the United States to make concessions before any peace negotiations, while he has been pushing for firm security guarantees for Kyiv, emphasizing that Putin has violated previous ceasefire agreements. Whether the United States has exerted corresponding pressure on Moscow to make concessions has not been made public. Shortly after the White House dispute, Zelensky expressed regret over the incident and sought to repair relations with the United States, the country's largest military supplier.

Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff later said that Trump received a letter from Zelensky, which included "apologies" and "gratitude." Witkoff said that in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. team hopes to discuss a peace "framework" to try to end the Russia-Ukraine war. A major minerals agreement that was reportedly interrupted by the dispute has also been put back on the agenda in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine has offered to allow the United States access to its rare earth mineral reserves in exchange for U.S. security guarantees.

The White House conflict also led to the United States suspending all military aid to Ukraine and halting intelligence sharing. But when asked if he would consider lifting the intelligence suspension, Trump replied on Sunday: "Well, we've almost lifted it. I mean, we've really almost lifted it, we want to do everything we can to get Ukraine to take it seriously to get something done." He did not provide further details. On February 18 - before the U.S.-Ukraine dispute in Washington - Rubio held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia. This was a follow-up to Trump's controversial phone conversation with Putin.