JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) 鈥� The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow鈥檚 agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia.
The administration's decision marked a sharp shift from only a week ago, when it imposed the measures to push Ukrainian President to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces. The suspension of U.S. assistance came days after Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump argued about the war in .
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the U.S. delegation to the talks in Jeddah, said Washington would present the ceasefire offer to the Kremlin, which has thus far opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict without accepting any concessions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to tell them this is what鈥檚 on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it鈥檒l be up to them to say yes or no," Rubio told reporters after the talks. 鈥淚f they say no, then we鈥檒l unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.鈥�
Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: "The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump鈥檚 vision for peace.鈥�
Tuesday's discussions, which lasted for nearly eight hours, appeared to put to rest, for the moment at least, the animosity between Trump and Zelenskyy that erupted during the Oval Office meeting last month.
Waltz said the negotiators 鈥済ot into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end,鈥� including long-term . And, he said, Trump agreed to immediately lift the pause in the supply of billions of of dollars of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing.
Senior officials began meeting only hours after Russia shot down over 300 Ukrainian drones. It was Ukraine鈥檚 biggest attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Neither U.S. nor Ukrainian officials offered any comment on the barrage.
Trump said he hoped that an agreement could be solidified 鈥渙ver the next few days.鈥�
鈥淚 know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue,鈥� Trump said. He did not elaborate.
The Kremlin had no immediate comment on the U.S. and Ukrainian statements. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said only that negotiations with U.S. officials could take place this week.
's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. The person cautioned that scheduling could change.
Zelenskyy renews calls for lasting peace
Meanwhile, in an address posted shortly after Tuesday's talks ended, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine鈥檚 commitment to achieving a lasting peace, emphasizing that the country has sought an end to the war since its outset.
鈥淥ur position is absolutely clear: Ukraine has strived for peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything possible to achieve it as soon as possible 鈥� securely and in a way that ensures war does not return,鈥� Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, who led the Ukrainian delegation, described the negotiations as positive. In a joint statement with the U.S., he said the two countries 鈥渟hare the same vision, and that we are moving in the same direction toward the just peace long awaited by all Ukrainians.鈥�
Hawkish Russians push back against any ceasefire
In Moscow, hawkish politicians and military bloggers spoke strongly against a prospective ceasefire, arguing that it would play into Kyiv鈥檚 hands and damage Moscow鈥檚 interests at a time when the Russian military has the upper hand in the fighting.
鈥淎 ceasefire isn鈥檛 what we need,鈥� wrote hard-line ideologue Alexander Dugin.
Viktor Sobolev, a retired general who is a member of the Russian parliament鈥檚 lower house, warned that a 30-day truce would allow Ukraine to beef up arms supplies and regroup its troops before resuming hostilities.
Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political commentator, suggested that Moscow could demand a halt on Western arms supplies to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire. 鈥淎n embargo on arms supplies to Ukraine could be a condition for a truce,鈥� he wrote.
Meanwhile, Russia launched 126 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow鈥檚 relentless .
Ukrainians watch the talks
On the streets of Kyiv, Ukrainians kept an eye on the Saudi talks.
Lena Herasymenko, a psychologist, said she accepts that compromises will be necessary to end the war, but she said they must be 鈥渞easonable.鈥�
鈥淲e had massive losses during this war, and we don鈥檛 know yet how much more we鈥檒l have,鈥� she told The Associated Press. 鈥淲e are suffering every day. Our kids are suffering, and we don鈥檛 know how the future generation will be affected.鈥�
Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier who could give only his first name because of security restrictions, warned that Ukraine cannot let down its guard down.
鈥淚f there is a ceasefire, it would only give Russia time to increase its firepower, manpower, missiles and other arms. Then they would attack Ukraine again,鈥� he said.
The meeting in Jeddah offered an opportunity for Kyiv officials to repair Ukraine鈥檚 relationship with the Trump administration after an unprecedented argument erupted during .
The Kremlin sticks to its conditions for peace
The Kremlin has not publicly offered any concessions. Putin has repeatedly declared that Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce.
Russia has said it鈥檚 ready to cease hostilities on condition that Ukraine drops its bid to join NATO and recognizes regions that Moscow occupies as Russian. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory.
Russian forces have held the battlefield momentum for more than a year, though at a high cost in infantry and armor, and are pushing at selected points along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the , against Ukraine's understrength and weary army.
Ukraine has invested heavily in developing its arms industry, especially .
Most of the Ukrainian drones fired overnight 鈥� 126 of them 鈥� were shot down over the Kursk region across the border from Ukraine, parts of which Kyiv鈥檚 forces control, and 91 were shot down over the Moscow region, according to a statement by Russia's Defense Ministry.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 70 drones targeted the Russian capital and were shot down as they were flying toward it 鈥� the biggest single attack on Moscow so far in the war.
The governor of the Moscow region surrounding the capital, Andrei Vorobyov, said the attack damaged several residential buildings and a number of cars.
Flights were temporarily restricted in and out of six airports, including Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky just outside Moscow, and airports in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions.
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Associated Press writers Baraa Anwer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Hanna Arhirova and Dmytro Zhyhinas in Kyiv, Ukraine; and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
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Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of the war in Ukraine at
Matthew Lee, The Associated Press
