US Contacts Russia Discussed The Proposal For A Armistice Approved By Ukraine

The Impact Of The Russian Attack On Ukraine/DOK PHOTO X @ZelenskyyUa

JAKARTA - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his party would contact Russia on Wednesday, regarding a deal reached with Ukraine over a 30-day ceasefire. Steps will also be discussed to end the Russian-Ukraine war.

There has been no official response from Moscow since US-Ukraine negotiations ended in Saudi Arabia after more than eight hours, with Kyiv agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire and the US restoring military aid and intelligence sharing.

President Vladimir Putin is said to be unlikely to approve US proposals for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, sources in Russia said.

Any agreement is stressed to have to take into account Russia's progress on the battlefield and address Moscow's concerns.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and injured, displaced millions, and sparked the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

US President Donald Trump has reversed previous US policies against Russia, opened bilateral talks with Moscow and suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, saying Ukraine should agree to terms to end the war.

The United States agreed on Tuesday to resume military aid and intelligence sharing after Kyiv said it was ready to support a ceasefire proposal.

A senior Russian source told Reuters Russia needed to discuss the terms of the ceasefire and get some kind of guarantee.

"It is difficult for Putin to agree to this in its current form," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters reported Wednesday, March 12.

"Putin has a strong position because Russia is progressing," he said.

Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory, about 113,000 square km (43,630 miles) and has moved forward for months.

Ukraine seized a small part of western Russia in August as a bargaining chip, but its grip there weakened, according to an open map of Russia's war sources and estimates.

Russian sources said without guarantees in addition to the ceasefire Russia's position could quickly become weaker and Russia could then be blamed by the West for failing to end the war.