Ukraine, after hours of meetings in Saudi Arabia, has accepted a ceasefire deal presented by the United States of America. This is a very important step in bringing the war with Russia to an end.

"We'll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope that they'll say yes," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters.  Rubio said if and once Moscow agrees to this preliminary agreement, the real negotiations can commence.  "This is very serious. Today people will die in this war. They died yesterday, and sadly, unless there's a ceasefire tonight, they'll die tomorrow. The president wants that to stop," Rubio further explained.

U.S. has said that it would immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume military assistance to Ukraine. In a joint statement, the U.S. and Ukraine acknowledged that the terms of any ceasefire would be subject to Russia’s approval. They also agreed to conclude a deal to develop Ukraine’s critical mineral resources “as soon as possible.”

However, there was no immediate comment from Russia, which did not have officials at the talks. President Trump told reporters that he might speak with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, this week, and that he hoped a lasting ceasefire would be negotiated in the coming days.

Issues involving the return of children abducted by Russia and the return of prisoners of war will be addressed in the "second phase" of negotiations, Rubio and Mike Waltz, national security advisor, said. Waltz confirmed that the Trump administration and the Ukrainian delegation discussed "substantive details" on security guarantees to ensure lasting peace between the two nations, though neither Kyiv nor Washington have yet confirmed the elements of those discussions.