US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “tremendous progress” had been made in talks to finalize a US-proposed peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
But after meeting Ukrainian and European negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland, Rubio said “there is still work to be done.”
“There are signs that President Trump’s team is listening to us,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine and its European allies have expressed concern about the leaked proposal, which was seen as favorable to Russia and welcomed by President Vladimir Putin as a “foundation” for a settlement. Prime Minister Zelenskyy said Ukraine “could face very difficult choices that could lead to loss of dignity or loss of a key partner.”
Rubio told reporters late Sunday that his negotiating team in Geneva had “a very good day.”
He said the main goal was to narrow down the “open items” in the country’s 28-point plan, and the parties involved had achieved this in a “significant way”.
But the top U.S. diplomat said any final agreement must be agreed to by the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents before the package is delivered to Russia, adding that several issues still remain to be worked on.
A joint U.S.-Ukraine statement released late Sunday said the two countries agreed to an “updated and refined peace framework” and agreed to “intensive work on joint proposals moving forward.”
Several media outlets reported seeing alternative plans from Kiev’s European allies, led by Britain, France and Germany. The BBC has never seen the document and Rubio has denied any knowledge of its existence.
President Trump previously criticized Ukrainian leaders for showing “no gratitude” for U.S. efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The US president also pointed out that Europe, where Kiev has some of its staunchest allies, continues to buy oil from Russia.
Moscow relies heavily on oil and gas exports to continue financing its war in Ukraine.
The Geneva talks are focused on the U.S. draft, a leaked version of which includes a withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the eastern Donetsk region it currently controls and de facto Russian control of Donetsk and the nearby Luhansk region, in addition to the southern Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
The plan also includes freezing the borders of southern Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhia regions along the current front lines. Both regions are partially occupied by Russia.
The U.S. plan also limits Ukraine’s troops to 600,000, down from about 880,000 currently.
The draft includes a commitment by Ukraine not to seek NATO membership. In return, Kiev will receive “reliable security guarantees,” details of which were not provided.
The document says Russia will not invade its neighbors and NATO is “expected” to expand further.
The draft also suggests that lifting sanctions would “reintegrate Russia into the global economy” by allowing it to rejoin the G7 group of the world’s most powerful countries, making it back into the G8.
Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, and despite reported heavy losses, Russian troops are advancing slowly along a vast frontline.
Trump gave Ukraine until Thursday to agree to the proposal.
But he said this was not his “final offer” to Kiev after Ukraine’s allies in Europe, Canada and Japan expressed concerns.
And Rubio told reporters Sunday that he was “very optimistic that we’ll get there in a very reasonable amount of time,” whether it’s Thursday, another day or next Monday.
