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During important peace talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the embattled country of Ukraine expressed its willingness to agree to enact a U.S.-proposed interim 30-day ceasefire in the conflict against Russia, according to an official joint statement from representatives of both countries.
According to the statement:
“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.”
This comes less than two weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky botched a diplomatic visit to the White House and was asked by President Trump not to return until he was ready for peace.
It seems Ukraine is now ready to come to the table. “The Ukrainian delegation reiterated the Ukrainian people’s strong gratitude to President Trump, the U.S. Congress, and the people of the United States for making possible meaningful progress toward peace,” the statement emphasized.
This also comes after President Zelensky sent a letter of apology to President Trump, according to Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during comments on Fox News.
Witkoff expressed optimism that Zelensky would soon be ready to sign the rare earth minerals deal with the United States that he lost out on when he visited the White House and initially fumbled the ball.
“I hope so, Zelensky sent a letter to the president, he apologized for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office, and I think that was an important step,” Witkoff explained.
Tuesday’s joint statement touched on those important rare earth resources in Ukraine and noted, “Lastly, both countries’ presidents agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy, offset the cost of American assistance, and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.”
Ahead of the Saudi peace talks, Witkoff exhibited optimism about the ability to continue to move toward sealing a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and it seems that his instinct proved correct.
“Part of mediation like this is to move the two sides closer to narrow the differences…I think that we’re going over there with an expectation that we’re going to make substantial progress,” he explained on Fox.