President Donald Trump appeared to downplay suggestions that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine could soon be reached in an early-morning Truth Social post.
The president questioned whether a deal between the two warring countries was feasible, in a 5:30 a.m. ET post, minutes after lamenting the “New York Football Giants (NFL)” Sunday night loss.
“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” Trump wrote. “GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
The post arrived as the Trump administration faces intense scrutiny for its proposed 28-point peace plan to end the war, which critics say heavily favors Moscow.
The leaked plan—which would involve Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, ending its hopes of joining NATO, and inviting Russia to rejoin the G8—has even been accused of being written in Moscow before being presented as a U.S.-led proposal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied claims that the plan amounted to a Kremlin “wish list” and insisted on X on Saturday that the proposal was “authored by the U.S.”
“It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side,” Rubio wrote. “But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
The U.S. and Ukraine will continue talks on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, after both countries said they had drafted a “refined peace framework” following pushback from several European nations that rejected the original plan and offered their own proposals.
The U.S. had initially set Ukraine a Thursday deadline to accept the 28-point deal, but officials have since backed away from that pressure.
Rubio said in Geneva on Sunday that Thursday’s deadline could be extended depending on the talks.
“The deadline is we want to get this done as soon as possible. Obviously, you know, we would love it to be Thursday…We’ve really moved forward, so I feel very optimistic that we’re going to get there in a very reasonable period of time, very soon,” Rubio told CNN. “Whether it’s Thursday, whether it’s Friday, whether it’s Wednesday, whether it’s Monday of the following week, we want it to be soon, because people are going to die.”
Trump also told reporters at the White House on Saturday that the peace plan was “not my final offer,” but said the nearly four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine must end “one way or the other.”
Rubio called Sunday’s talks in Geneva “the most productive day in the entirety of our efforts,” but admitted there were still “a couple issues that we need to continue to work on.”
“I don’t want to declare victory or finality here. There’s still some work to be done, but we are much further ahead today, at this time, than we were when we began this morning,” he said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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