Ukraine meets with Western allies in Geneva to discuss US-proposed peace plan

Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials said Sunday they were making progress toward ending the conflict. Russia-Ukraine War while they were discussing proposed by the United States to achieve peace despite concerns from many of Washington’s European allies that the plan was too conciliatory toward Moscow.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the first session of high-stakes talks in Geneva as “probably the most productive and meaningful meeting” since President Trump returned to power in January. Rubio said the delegations would meet for a second time later on Sunday.

Challenging that optimistic tone was Trump himself, who used a lengthy online post to criticize Ukraine for its lack of gratitude for American military assistance, while avoiding criticism of Russia.

In a Truth Social post ahead of Sunday’s talks, Trump said the war between Ukraine and Russia is “violent and terrible that, with strong and proper US-Ukrainian LEADERSHIP, would NEVER have HAPPENED.”

“I INHERIT A WAR THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED, A WAR THAT IS A LOSER FOR EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED SO UNNECESSARILY. UKRAINE’S ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA,” he wrote. “UNITED STATES CONTINUES TO SELL MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WEAPONS IN DOLLARS TO NATO, FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UKRAINE (CROOKED JOE GAVE IT ALL, FREE, FREE, FREE, INCLUDING “BIG” MONEY!). GOD BLESS ALL THE LIVES THAT HAVE BEEN LOST IN THE HUMAN CATASTROPHE! President DJT.”

There was a sense of urgency behind the discussions: Trump set a Thursday deadline for Ukraine to respond to the plan. But he has also suggested it could slide if there was evidence of real progress and the plan was not his final offer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that he was waiting for the outcome of the talks.

“We all need a positive result,” he said. “The Ukrainian and American teams, the teams of our European partners, are in close contact and I am very hopeful that there will be a result. We must stop the bloodshed and ensure that the war is not reignited.”

In a later post, Zelenskyy said there was an understanding that the United States would take into account “a number of elements” in a peace deal that are important for Ukraine, but did not elaborate.

“There have already been brief reports from the team on the results of the first meetings and conversations,” he said. “It is now understood that the US proposals may take into account a number of elements based on the Ukrainian vision and are of critical importance to Ukraine’s national interests.”

The 28-point plan drawn up by the United States sparked alarm in kyiv and across Europe, quickly rallying Western allies around Ukraine in a bid to revise the plan, which is seen as favoring Moscow. they said in a joint statement on saturday that while the plan “includes important elements that will be essential to a just and lasting peace,” additional work is required. The plan meets many of Russia’s demands that Ukraine has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including the cession of large swaths of territory.

After the first session, Rubio said, “Ultimately, this will have to be approved by our presidents, although I am very comfortable with that happening given the progress we have made.” The talks were joined by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Russia will also need to approve the final peace plan, Rubio said.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, also confirmed that an initial session of talks had concluded and that a second meeting would be held soon.

After Trump’s message, Zelenskyy applauded US-led security efforts, but emphasized that “the crux of the entire diplomatic situation is that it was Russia, and only Russia, that started this war.”

“Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to all American hearts and personally to President Trump for the assistance that – starting with the Javelins – has been saving Ukrainian lives. We thank everyone in Europe, in the G7 and in the G20 who are helping us defend life. It is important to preserve support.

“It is important not to forget the main objective: to stop Russia’s war and prevent it from breaking out again.”

“US leadership is important, we are grateful for everything the US and President Trump are doing for security and we continue to be as constructive as possible,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.

Some U.S. lawmakers said Saturday that Rubio had privately described the plan as a Russian “wish list” rather than a Washington-led proposal. He bipartisan group of senators held a press conference, stating that they had spoken to Rubio about the peace plan after he contacted some of them while en route to Geneva. Independent Maine Sen. Angus King said Rubio told them the plan was “not the administration’s plan” but a “Russian wish list.”

On Saturday night, Rubio rejected the claims, writing in a social media post that: “The peace proposal was written by the United States. It is offered as a solid framework for the ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and current input from Ukraine.”

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott denied his version and called it “blatantly false.”

“As Secretary Rubio and the entire Administration have consistently maintained, this plan was prepared by the United States, with contributions from both the Russians and the Ukrainians,” he posted on social media.

A senior U.S. official told News themezone in a statement Saturday night that the Trump administration has “consistently maintained” that the peace plan was crafted by the United States with input from Russia and Ukraine.

“This plan has always been a hopeful start to continuing negotiations and eventually signing a final peace agreement once and for all,” the statement said.