WASHINGTON, March 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin tossed the ball back into the US court as he responded to Washington’s proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Michael Desch, a professor of international relations at the University of Notre Dame, told TASS in an interview.

According to him, "President Putin was [initially] placed in a bind by the US/Ukraine ceasefire proposal and [US] Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio’s quip that the `ball is in Russia’s court’." "His (Putin’s - TASS) response was to accept in principle a ceasefire but demand that it set the stage for permanent peace so the ball is back in the West’s court," the US political scientist argued.

"I expect a long diplomatic rally before the match is over," added Desch who is also director of the Indiana-based university’s International Security Center.

Putin said at a news conference following talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on March 13 that Moscow supports proposals to end the hostilities in Ukraine but that they must result in lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis.

On March 11, Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah hosted talks between the United States and Ukraine. Following the meeting, Vladimir Zelensky’s office released a joint statement saying that Kiev supports Washington’s idea for a 30-day ceasefire. The US promised to lift its pause on intelligence sharing with Ukraine and resume military aid to Kiev.