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nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual, people value me for me, they care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. ♪ ♪ narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. announcer: and now, bbc news. >> i'm sumi somaskanda in washington and this is bbc world news america. ukraine agrees to u.s.-backed cease fire subject to the agreement of moscow. the u.s. and canada back down from and ask leading trade war as ontario's premier says he is heading to washington for talks. ♪

sumi: welcome to world news america. thank you for joining us. ukraine says it is ready to accept a 30 day cease-fire with russia after the u.s. agreed to lift its paws on intelligence sharing and resume assistance to kyiv. they have not confirmed assistance has been restored. this after eight hours of talks between senior american and ukrainian officials in saudi arabia. a joint statement said the cease-fire could quote extended by mutual agreement, and subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the russian federation. the united states will communicate to pressure that russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace. the united states will immediately lift the paws on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to ukraine. the statement went on to say both country's presidents agreed

to conclude a comprehensive agreement for developing ukraine's critical mineral resources to quote expand their economy and guarantee ukraine's security and prosperity. marco rubio talked about what comes next. >> today we made an offer the ukrainians have accepted which is to enter into a cease-fire, and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that is enduring, sustainable and accounts for their interests, security and ability to prosper. we both want to thank the kingdom of saudi arabia for hosting this in making this possible. we are grateful for them hosting us today. hopefully we can take this offer to the russians and we hope they will say yes to peace. the ball is now in their court. the president's objective is, above everything, he wants the war to end. i think ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard.

we hope the russians will reciprocate. sumi: trump said he is open to inviting president zelenskyy back to the white house after his dispute in the oval office. we will have more from trump in a moment, the first, our state department correspondent tom bateman in saudi arabia. tom: this joint statement is striking for two reasons. first we have the reinstatement of security and intelligence assistance announced by the americans which says that will be immediate. president trump last week suspended u.s. weapons supply to ukraine because he believed they were not showing enough commitment to the process he wants to put in place. we heard positive signals in the run-up to the talks from marco rubio hoping they would have something to announce, and it has happened. the second point is about the cease-fire proposal in this statement.

in the run-up to these talks we have been led to expect ukrainians would propose a more limited, partial early cease-fire it would involve a halt to long-range missile fire on energy and critical infrastructure and at sea. what we have in this statement is a broader cease-fire proposal described as an immediate cease-fire for 30 days. you're talking infantry, ground maneuvers, the war itself. that is what mr. trump campaign on, saying he wanted to stop the war. we heard mr. rubio say it was about stopping the shooting. the worry from ukrainians and europeans has been, if you get a cease-fire in place first without negotiating a way to enforce and lease it, -- police

it, involving a security guarantee for americans -- from americans, that leaves ukrainians vulnerable, because the russians could rearm and come back later. the only thing about the cease-fire, we have only one side, ukrainians saying they will sign up. now it has to go to the russians. the statement makes clear americans will do that, they will take the proposal to moscow. it is reported that mr. trump's envoy will travel to moscow for the second time in a month later this week, potentially speak to mr. putin. all of this hinges on what the response from vladimir is going to be, -- from putin is going to be. a significant shift in the ukrainian position and what appears to be the restoration of the relationship between the

u.s. and ukraine. sumi: we have gotten reaction from president zelenskyy. he was not part of talks today. he was in saudi arabia meeting crown prince mohammad bin salman monday. his top aid took part in the talks. in a video posted online after the area -- agreement was reached, president zelenskyy welcomed the step forward. >> the american side understands our arguments and prepositions. i would like to thank president trump for the constructive conversation between our teams. part of the conversation was a proposal to make the first step forward and establish a full cease-fire for 30 days. not just for missiles, drones and bombs, not just in the black sea, but across the whole frontline. ukraine accept this proposal. we are ready to make this step. the u.s. needs to convince

pressure to do the same. sumi: earlier outside the white house we got reaction from president trump. pres. trump: hopefully we can wipe out a deal but this is very important. if we can get pressure to do it, that will be great. if we can't, we keep going on and people will get killed, lots of people. sumi: a lot of movement on this breaking news today. let's speak with michael carpenter who served on the biden administration as an ambassador for security and cooperation in europe and as senior director for europe's national secure to counsel. great to have you back. we have this confirmation that security assistance has been restored to ukraine. is this a good agreement for the ukrainians? michael: this is because having intelligence sharing paused put ukraine at a huge disadvantage on the battlefield. in order to restart the

intelligence and security capabilities, this was a good deal for the ukrainians. now they get the put the ball -- to put the ball in russia's court and see if russia agrees to a 30 day provisional cease-fire. we can discuss if that is likely or not. sumi: let's talk about that. that is key, if russia agrees. is there any indication vladimir putin would be amenable to this agreement? michael: let me put it this way. vladimir putin is almost certainly going to insist on his maximalist terms for ukraine. he wants five ukraine -- areas of ukraine to go to russia, a pledge of no nato membership for ukraine, and no nato forces inside the country. then he wants some sort of demilitarization or cap on the size of the ukrainian military. he is not going to back off.

he might tactically agree to a cease-fire while pressing those conditions, and potentially if not happy with the result, he could violate the cease-fire. there have been any number of cease-fires between russia and ukraine since 2014 that were violated, each time with both sides accusing the other of the violation. most of the time pressure being responsible. that is the best indication we have of where putin is going to go. he may consider doing this to placate the trump administration, but ultimately will insist on his maximalist gains. sumi: from what you have heard from the trump administration, do get a sense of what steps they would take if president putin does not agree to this deal? michael: we have heard president trump say publicly he would be inclined to impose additional sanctions and potentially tariffs on russia. remains to be seen if he is

willing to do the. thus far, all the leverage and pressure tactics have been directed at ukraine, not the ball is in russia's court. if russia demands additional concessions or refuses the cease-fire, then potentially we have to see if the trump administration is willing to take measures to impose pressure on moscow. sumi: important to note sanctions have not deterred president putin to this point. where do you see this leaves ukrainians and president zelenskyy when it comes to security guarantees? this is something they have demanded from the beginning. we understand several options were discussed. michael: this is the prime reason why president zelenskyy has been reluctant to enter into a cease-fire thus far. he has not wanted to have a

cease-fire and then potential follow on negotiation before knowing there will be some guarantee, given the number of times putin has reneged on these deals. because of the cut off of the intelligence and security assistance, he has deemed it in ukraine's interest to do the cease-fire even in the absence of security guaranteers. here is the bottom line. it is highly unlikely putin will agree to a longer-range cease-fire with the prospect of nato nations contributing forces to some sort of stabilization mission on the ground in ukraine. he will not abide by the. -- that. that will make a longer-term deal difficult to reach. sumi: thank you for joining us on bbc news. great to get your perspective. michael: my pleasure. sumi: we will continue to cover

that story on our website, bbc.com/news. to our other big story, escalations and reversals in u.s.-canada trade policies gripped global markets tuesday after a dramatic day of tensions between the allies. president trump signaled to considering calling off earlier threats the double tariffs on canadian usaid --steel and aluminum exports to 50%, confirmed by the commerce secretary and trade advisor in recent interviews. the taxes will be rolled back from 50% to 25%. it follows the premier of canada's ontario province temporarily pausing his planned attacks the province electricity exports to the u.s. doug ford said he will travel to washington thursday for talks, saying quote, the temperature needs to come down. ontario's premier said he spoke to secretary let nick and both parties were ready to move forward. >> with any negotiation we have

there is a point both parties are heated and the temperature needs to come down. i thought this was the right decision. they understand how serious we are about electricity and tariffs. rather than going back and forth and having threats to each other we have both agreed to let cooler heads prevail. we need to move this forward. every negotiation starts sitting at the table. when someone invites you to their home, let's sit down at the table, i'm not going to refuse. sumi: the back-and-forth prompted another day of volatility in financial markets. u.s. stocks dropped again tuesday fueled by uncertainty from president trump's policies. following the worst day monday after trump did not rule out the possibility of our session. the white house said it was just a snapshot in time.

president trump said he was not taking an easy route to economic recovery but maintained that he is quote doing the right thing. let's talk about u.s.-canada relations with the mayor of windsor, ontario. very good to have you with us on bbc news. i want to start by asking you about what we have heard from doug ford about it is time to stop the bleeding and he is going to washington for negotiations. what do you make of that? >> it is a good thing. any way to pause these tariffs, to renegotiate wholesale the trade agreement we have between the united states, canada and mexico is a good thing. doing this piecemeal and having a ping-pong ball bouncing every day from the white house where it 50% today, 25% tomorrow, it is no good for business. you see what it has done to the stock market and families on

either side of the border. the sooner we can get to the table to renegotiate our beneficial trade agreement the better it is for residents in all three countries. sumi: reciprocal tariffs are supposed to go into effect on april 2, one of the reasons doug ford is coming to washington. help us understand the impact of the prospect of those tariffs on windsor. mayor dilkens: i wish i could, but we don't know what a reciprocal tariff means. we have free trade agreements today. the president is talking about derry, suggesting it should be a 250% reciprocal tariff which would be above and higher than the quoted today, or the tariff today for to -- for derry from the u.s. the numbers are not making any sense to canadians. any tariff on canadian goods, the automotive's industry as an example. detroit city -- detroit is the

motor city and we have a tightly integrated supply chain built since the 1960's on either side of the border, that it is hard to imagine the benefits any consumer, when any tariff is applied to the cross-border movement of goods. it is hard to say a car is built in the u.s. or canada because the parts that go into the vehicle, regardless what side of the border they have finished on have crossed borders six or seven times on actions. a tariff on canada is simply attacks to american consumers. sumi: we have seen exemptions for auto companies made by president trump. do you think this is all a negotiating tactic and that president trump was trying to get what he calls a better deal from his canadian partners? mayor dilkens: it is clear he is cherry picking certain issues and putting pressure on and threatening tariffs to deal with discrete issues. we started off with border security and fentanyl.

our government put forward a $1.5 billion plan that was robust and met the satisfaction of mr. holman, appointed by trump. however that message never made it to the white house. we realized very quick it was not about those issues. then you see the escalation and the threat of tariff on steel and aluminum and then hiding out in piecemeal issues along the way. we need to get to the table, figure out where the points of friction are, and put things on paper and come to an agreement that allows us the certainty to move forward for years with trade agreements that benefit residents in all three countries who party to this. sumi: give us a sense of how all this back-and-forth on tariffs and the rhetoric we have seen is impacting canadians, and people in windsor? as you said just across the border from detroit, very integrated communities. howdy people feel about what they are seeing? mayor dilkens: there is an immediate chill on business

investment. that has all stopped. businesses are waiting for certainty before they know where to park their capital. we are part owners of the windsor detroit tunnel so we monitor traffic volumes every day and the last month we are down 8%. people in my community are deciding not to shop in the u.s., to not spend their money there, to look at other locations for vacations, not florida or arizona. they want to go to mexico or cuba now to spend their money. it is having an immediate impact, and i think it is being noticed by retailers on the other side of the border and detroit. they are noticing volumes are down and people are parking their money -- putting their money back in canada. we are doing that even at the municipal level. sumi: we have to leave the conversation there for today. thanks for joining us.

people in greenland are voting in parliament reelections that could have big implications for its future. one of the central issues is whether the vast semiautonomous arctic territory pushes for independence from its former colonial ruler denmark. this was sharpened by trump's stated ambitions to acquire the territory for the u.s. recent polls indicate a large majority of greenlanders back movement toward future statehood, but strongly opposed joining the u.s. the u.n. says entire families were killed in syria's coastal region during last week's clashes of new authorities and members of the alawite community, mostly loyal to former president bashar al-assad . they have verified over 100 deaths including executions with small children among those who died. the u.n. expects the final number of dead to be much higher with a war monitoring group putting the number at over 1000.

on monday syria's new government agreed with kurdish forces to integrate them into the country's institutions. the deal would establish a cease across syria and integrate all institutions in the northeast into the syrian state every there has been growing concern about the humanitarian situation in syria following the new wave of violence. i spoke about -- spoke about that with a refugee office director. you have been speaking with colleagues in the coastal areas where we have seen violence in syria. some have been trapped there. tell us what they have been sharing with you. >> thanks for the question of the situation is an extremely dire situation. civilian populations are lacking basic needs, food. i was just chatting with a colleague of mine who has been

able to secure some bread and tomatoes, but that is everything she has been able to get hold of. while for example she has been unable to secure meat and diapers since thursday. the situation for the civilian population, as always is the case during conflict, it is really bad. sumi: what is your organization able to do in terms of getting aid into these areas? federico: in terms of access to the areas it is not possible. even if we would be ready to deliver basic services and goods, the area is insecure and the security approvals required to access the areas are slowing down the response. that is an issue. we need access to those areas. sumi: you are also calling on the government to ensure all groups including minority groups

in syria are protected. what do you make of the type of violence we are seeing breakout right now? federico: citizens should always be protected regardless of their ethnic groups or beliefs or anything. certainly the violence is not going [indiscernible] civilians we have talked to across the country are asking for a better future, hope. that is the type of violence bringing us back to another conflict after 14 years of suffering of those populations. it is something we should work against. sumi: this after many syrians had been falling -- celebrating the fall of the assad regime. some have been returning from abroad. the economy is really struggling at the moment. how are syrians coping in a

period of transition? federico: the economy is extremely dire. we have been traveling across the whole country, serving people in need. speaking with them, many of those have been indicating the lack of livelihood as the main barrier. recent conversations we have had with small business owners or participants of our projects have been indicating, if up to $300 are required for normal family to provide for basic services and essential goods, it is impossible in the current situation for civilian families to have that amount of money. we need more job opportunities, more investments coming into projects, the rehabilitation of basic services and every

structure -- infrastructure. sumi: an update on the plane crash in washington in january. aviation regulators recommended helicopters be prevented from flying near washington reagan national airport when two lesser used runways or operational. the midair collision between an american airlines airlines passenger jet and black hawk helicopter killed 67 people, making it the deadliest u.s. aviation disaster in decades. the ntsb says the new restriction is because of the risk of new air collisions -- provisions. u.k. police arrested the captain of a portuguese cargo ship on suggestion -- suspicion of gross negligence and manslaughter. both ships, one carrying aviation fuel, caught fire in the collision. one is still burning.

a crewman is still missing, presumed dead. the pakistani prime minister says security forces are fighting insurgents who stormed a train and took hostages. it was carrying more than 400 people when it was attacked in balochistan province. it liberation group said it was responsible. the rebels took several hostages into a mountainous area. about 80 passengers including women and children had disembarked and reached safety. in the philippines president ferdinand marcos, jr. said the former leader duterte is on route to the international critical -- criminal court when he was arrested on an icc warrant. he said the former president will face charges related to what he described as mr. duterte 's bloody were on drugs. the trial over the death of diego maradona has started in

buenos aires with seven medical staff facing charges of involuntary manslaughter. he died of cardiac arrest in 2020 when recovering from surgery. he was in a situation of helplessness because of reckless home care. he could have survived with proper treatment. his neurosurgeon, psychiatrist and coordinator are among those accused and they deny responsibility. that is our program. narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... bdo, accountants and advisors, funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. ♪ ♪ usa today calls it "arguably the best bargain in streaming" that's because the free pbs app let's you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett on the "newshour" tonight, ukraine signals it's open to a 30-day ceasefire after meeting with u.s. diplomats, who are pushing to end the war russia started. amna: president trump and vice president vance push lawmakers to get on board with a resolution that would avert a government shutdown.