Rubio says 'ball now in court' of Russia to accept Ukraine truce

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00:00Volodymyr Zelensky, of course, was in Saudi Arabia ahead of the talks, but not involved

00:04in what was going on.

00:05But let's get his reaction, Volodymyr Zelensky.

00:10The American side understands our arguments and accepts our proposals.

00:15I want to thank President Trump for the constructive nature of our team's discussions.

00:19Today, the American side proposed taking the next step immediately, establishing a full

00:25ceasefire for 30 days.

00:29This would not only apply for missiles, drones, and bombs, and not only in the Black Sea,

00:35but along the entire front line.

00:38Ukraine welcomes this proposal.

00:40We see it as a positive step and are ready to take it.

00:43The United States must now convince Russia to do the same.

00:47If they agree, the ceasefire will take effect immediately.

00:53Another key element of today's discussion was America's readiness to restore defensive

00:57aid to Ukraine, including intelligence support.

01:01If agreements are implemented, then within these 30 days of silence, we can work with

01:05our partners to develop concrete security guarantees that ensure lasting peace.

01:10Ukraine is ready for peace.

01:13Now Russia must show whether it is ready to end or to continue the war.

01:18It is time for the full truth.

01:49effective immediately.

01:50We heard those words there from Mike Waltz, the resumption of U.S. security assistance

01:55to Ukraine and intelligence sharing after it was suspended by Donald Trump after his

01:59disastrous meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

02:03That was the number one objective of the Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia today, to get the

02:07Americans to resume military aid to Ukraine, and they're going to do that regardless of

02:12whether Russia accepts the ceasefire and whether the ceasefire really materialises.

02:16Their second most important objective was to put the ball in Russia's court, and Marco

02:20Rubio used those exact words to show that they are willing to make peace and now challenge

02:25Russia to show whether or not Russia is willing to make peace.

02:29And I think the Russians now have a difficult decision to make, because they're the ones

02:33attacking at the moment.

02:34The Ukrainians are defending.

02:35It's a lot easier to agree to a ceasefire when you're on the defensive.

02:39The Russians, if they agree to a ceasefire right now, that means that their attempts

02:43to retake Sudja, that key town that the Ukrainians occupy in Kursk region, they're on the brink

02:49of retaking it.

02:50They might have to stop if they agree to this ceasefire.

02:52They also have not yet achieved their key goals in Donbass of taking the strategic towns

02:56of Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk.

02:59So the Russians will be loathe to stop fighting now, while the Ukrainians are on the back

03:03foot.

03:04On the other hand, the Americans have made it very clear that they are going to put pressure

03:07on the Russians, and Donald Trump said that he very much hopes that the Russian side will

03:11agree to this ceasefire.

03:13So now the Russians have got expectations.

03:15Finally, the Ukrainians are perhaps about to see the Americans putting some pressure

03:20on the Russians.

03:21I mean, I think some people this evening are thinking it's almost too good to be true and

03:24wondering what's the catch.

03:25Indeed.

03:26Is there any sense where you are, Gulliver, about what Ukraine might have to give up as

03:31part of this deal?

03:32What are the terms and conditions?

03:34Do we have any clue?

03:37This is nothing like a final peace agreement.

03:40This is a step forward, as all sides seem to be describing it.

03:44Possibly there will be a ceasefire.

03:45There's a lot of skepticism in Ukraine about whether there really will even be a ceasefire.

03:50But if there isn't a ceasefire, then the Ukrainians will have achieved one of their goals of proving,

03:53you know, in a way, what Volodymyr Zelensky was saying when he was in the Oval Office,

03:57that the Russians can't be trusted, that the Russians at the moment don't want peace, that

04:00Vladimir Putin will not agree to a ceasefire, and that, therefore, the United States needs

04:04to put more pressure on Russia.

04:06Either way, it's kind of a win-win situation for the Ukrainians.

04:09If there is a ceasefire, yes, they're worried the Russians will use it to regroup and rearm,

04:13but they very much need the time to regroup and rearm as well, if fighting is to resume

04:17later.

04:18And if there is no ceasefire, then they will have proved their point.

04:21But all the talk later on about a final settlement, about Ukraine possibly having to make territorial

04:26concessions, that's still some way down the line.

04:29Gulliver, Craig, for us in the Keeves.

04:33Thank you very much indeed.

04:35Let's continue the analysis.

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