Foreign ministers from the G7 group of leading industrial nations are set to gather for several days of talks in Quebec, Canada, including meetings focused on ending the Russia-Ukraine war and supporting Ukraine in its three-year fight against the invasion.
The talks follow a decision by the United States to resume intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine after senior officials from the two countries met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
After nearly eight hours of talks, Ukraine announced Tuesday its readiness to accept a U.S. proposal for “an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire” in the war with Russia, pending Kremlin approval.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters en route to Canada on Wednesday that the U.S. will have “multiple points of contact” with Russia to assess its willingness for the peace deal.
“Now, we all eagerly await the Russian response, and urge them strongly to consider ending all hostilities ... so a process can begin to find a permanent peace,” Rubio told VOA on Wednesday.
Rubio added that there is a need for monitors if Russia agrees to a ceasefire.
“If they [Russians] say yes, one of the things we’ll have to determine is who do both sides trust to be on the ground to sort of monitor some of the small arms fires and exchanges that could happen,” Rubio told reporters.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the 30-day ceasefire proposal, saying Wednesday on X that it is “an important and correct step towards a just peace for Ukraine.”
“We stand with Ukraine and the United States and welcome the proposals from Jeddah. Now it is up to Putin,” Scholz said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that Russia was waiting for a briefing on the proposal from the United States.
‘The ball’s now in (Russia’s) court’
Late Tuesday, Rubio told reporters that Ukraine has taken a concrete step toward ending the war.
“Now hopefully we’ll take this offer now to the Russians. And we hope that they’ll say yes — that they’ll say yes to peace. The ball’s now in their court,” he said.
National security adviser Mike Waltz, who joined Rubio in leading the U.S. side in Jeddah, said he would speak with his Russian counterpart “in the coming days.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to visit the White House on Thursday. All these discussions are part of the efforts to advance the peace process.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not participate in the U.S.-Ukraine talks, but he said during his nightly address Tuesday that the ceasefire plan was a “positive proposal.”
“Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same,” Zelenskyy said. “If Russia agrees, the ceasefire will take effect immediately.”
Mineral deal?
Trump has voiced interest in making continued military aid conditional on access to Ukraine’s raw materials.
More than four dozen minerals, including several types of rare earths, plus nickel and lithium, are considered critical to the U.S. economy and national defense. Ukraine has large deposits of uranium, lithium and titanium.
Following Tuesday’s talks, the joint statement said both sides agreed to “conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.”
An agreement on the matter had been expected to be signed last month by Trump and Zelenskyy but was canceled after their tense Oval Office meeting Feb. 28.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
