Kyiv and Washington reach an agreement on a ceasefire during talks in Jeddah. Now the ball is in Moscow’s court, which, for now, urges caution
By: Guglielmo Gallone – Vatican News
Publication Date:
Kyiv is ready for peace: this is the first significant outcome of the negotiation held yesterday in Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah, between the United States and Ukraine. The delegations of the two countries reached an agreement in three points. Ukraine is willing to accept an immediate thirty-day ceasefire with Russia, provided that Russia accepts it, renewable by mutual agreement between the parties. The US will resume sending military aid and sharing intelligence with the Ukrainians. In turn, they will hasten to sign the agreement on raw materials strongly desired by Washington.
Russian reaction
The Russian side, for now, has been expressed by the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, urging to “not rush too much,” without excluding a new phone call between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Waiting to know Moscow’s response – where the White House special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will go tomorrow to dialogue with the top Russian representatives – it is necessary to reflect on the factors that seem to characterize the resumption of dialogue between the Americans and Ukrainians. Just under two weeks ago, there was a televised clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, casting a shadow over the Kyiv-Washington relationship, subsequently confirmed by the suspension of military aid by the US.
The role of diplomacy
Few expected an immediate change of course. If this has happened, it is primarily because yesterday the rules of diplomatic negotiation were respected. No television show, hence no personalization or spectacularization of politics, but the use of two delegations composed of negotiators who know the interests of the actors involved, the stakes, the power relations, hence the tactics, codes, and means to be implemented when dialoguing at certain levels. And who, away from the screens, in a neutral but central territory like the Gulf whose countries are increasingly becoming protagonists on the international stage, discussed for eight hours, crossing the interests of the parties.
American interests
On one side, the US intentions are to propose solutions shared by both Kyiv and Moscow, as reiterated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who before the meeting highlighted how “Ukraine will have to make concessions on the territory Russia has taken since 2014 as part of any agreement to end the war.” It seems that President Trump is in a hurry to conclude peace between Ukrainians and Russians, especially due to internal needs that require some urgency. Tensions between the US and Canada are sky-high due to the trade war initiated by the US with tariffs that are first announced and then withdrawn. But things are not going well with other countries either. In addition to the reactions from Mexico and China, the countermeasures announced today by the EU will affect US products worth $26 billion. Thus, tariffs, fear of inflation, and recession continue to undermine Wall Street. Therefore, the Americans are speeding up on peace in Ukraine to focus on the domestic front and to bring home a diplomatic success by claiming to have obtained something in return – the agreement on raw materials.
The situation on the ground
On the other side, there are Ukrainian interests aimed at starting an air and sea truce as soon as possible because these are the fronts where the Kyiv army is most suffering. The ground fighting proves it. During the night, Russia launched drones on the Dnipro region, the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy, causing one casualty, and on the port of Odessa, killing four Syrians.
