JEDDAH: Ukraine endorsed an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia in pivotal talks in Jeddah on Tuesday after three years of grinding war.

In the first high-level US-Ukraine meeting since President Volodymyr Zelensky’s White House dressing down, the Americans agreed to restore military aid and they pledged to conclude a deal on Ukrainian minerals “as soon as possible”, a joint statement said.

“Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.—AFP