Update [03/013/2025, 9:54 a.m. EST]: A top Kremlin aide rejected the 30-day ceasefire proposal by the U.S. on Thursday. He said that was his point of view and noted Putin would share “more specific and meaningful assessments” on Thursday.
A ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia may be on the horizon.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a clear message — Russia needs to accept a deal developed by the U.S. and Ukraine or pay for it, per Politico.
This seems to be a new direction in negotiations as it has been unclear in recent weeks what side the U.S. was supporting as it halted military support for Ukraine and started a feud with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the same time, the Trump administration seemed to lean more toward Russia’s ideology and falsely blamed Zelenskyy for starting the war, according to the outlet.
U.S. and Ukrainian delegations inched toward peace with a preliminary agreement reached Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.
The agreement includes the U.S. agreeing to restart aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine would accept a 30-ceasefire if Russia agrees.
If Russia does not agree, it would face economic penalties.
“I can do things financially. It would be very bad for Russia,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t want to do that, because I want to get peace.”
He added that route “would be devastating for Russia.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that national security adviser Mike Waltz spoke with a Russian counterpart and “the president’s team continues to be engaged” on brokering a ceasefire.
Leavitt added special envoy Steve Witkoff will be going to Moscow “later this week.”
“We urge the Russians to sign on to this plan,” Leavitt said. “This is the closest we have been to peace in this war. We are at the 10th yard line and the president expects the Russians to help us run this into the end zone.”
Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that economic pressure is a means to an end.
“Every single sanction that has been imposed on Russia remains in place,” Rubio said in Shannon, Ireland. “There’s been no steps taken to relieve any of these things.”
He did not go as far as to say more sanctions are possible, but said “let’s hope they say yes.”
Rubio also said “the ball is now in their court,” referring to Russia.
Vance, who played a major role in the disastrous meeting with Zelenskyy, admitted things are looking bright.
“We think we’re in a very good place where the Ukrainians have agreed to a ceasefire and we’re now going to see whether we can get the Russians to agree to a ceasefire too,” Vance said on Wednesday.
However, as the Associated Press reported, Russia may not be that amenable to a deal as others.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the players should not “get ahead” of the idea of a ceasefire.
Peskov said Russia will not move forward until it gets “detailed information” from the U.S.
The Kremlin has said it wants nothing less than a permanent end to the three-year war.
