# UK helped Ukraine and US reach ceasefire deal - government sources

## By Damian Grammaticas (BBC correspondent) and Megan Fisher (BBC News)

**Damian Grammaticas**  
BBC correspondent  


**Megan Fisher**  
BBC News  


**3 days ago**

**Share**  


**Save**  


  
Reuters  
Sir Keir Starmer meeting Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month

The UK was "intimately involved" in helping Ukraine and the US reach an agreement over a proposed ceasefire deal with Russia, according to UK government sources.

Ukrainian President  but that it is up to the US to convince Russia to agree, after talks in Saudi Arabia.

The BBC has been told that over the past week there has been a concerted European effort, led by Sir Keir Starmer, to get the US and Ukraine back in good favour with one another.

Sir Keir praised the "remarkable breakthrough" and called it an "important moment for peace in Ukraine".

Following the announcement, the Trump administration said it would reinstate military aid to Ukraine and restart intelligence-sharing with Kyiv - after abruptly halting this after .

The UK sources say that last week the prime minister's National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, worked with his US counterpart Mike Waltz, and German and French officials, to fashion a plan for a ceasefire and the steps that might follow.

Over the weekend Powell travelled to Kyiv to meet Zelensky and help draft a written proposal which included a temporary pause in fighting, then confidence-building measures such as an exchange of prisoners-of-war, the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia and the release of civilians.

That proposal was agreed by the Ukrainians and the Americans, setting the stage for what happened in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Following the talks between White House and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, Sir Keir congratulated the two men on the agreement, adding "we now all need to redouble our efforts" to secure a peace deal for Ukraine.

He said: "As both American and Ukrainian delegations have said, the ball is now in the Russian court. Russia must now agree to a ceasefire and an end to the fighting too."

Trump told reporters that US officials would discuss the deal with Moscow either late on Tuesday or Wednesday as he wanted to "get this show on the road".

When asked about the 30-day ceasefire proposal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "let's not get ahead of ourselves".

Speaking at a daily press briefing, he said Russia was "carefully studying the statements made after the meeting" and that the Kremlin needed to be briefed by the US on the outcome of US-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia before commenting on whether a proposed ceasefire was acceptable to Russia.

Peskov did not rule out the need for a phone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Trump.

  
Getty Images  
The prime minister's National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, played a key role in fashioning a plan for a ceasefire and the steps that might follow.

## Related

### 

### 

### 

## Tags

### 

### 

### 

---

## More

### 

2 hrs ago

Europe

### 

2 hrs ago

Europe

### 

12 hrs ago

Hereford & Worcester

---

## Related

### 

2 hrs ago

Europe

### 

2 hrs ago

Europe

### 

12 hrs ago

Hereford & Worcester

---

## More

### 

6 hrs ago

BBC InDepth

### 

19 hrs ago

Europe

### 

20 hrs ago

Europe

### 

22 hrs ago

Europe

### 

23 hrs ago

Europe

### 

23 hrs ago

Politics
```