KYIV — The draft of a controversial U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine was down from 28 points to 19 by Monday, an official briefed on the discussions said, after frenzied meetings in Geneva between top Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators.
A U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and a Ukrainian team, led by the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, held talks in Geneva on Sunday to hammer through changes to the proposal, the first draft of which made such major concessions to Russia that it spurred outrage from Ukraine and its allies, including Republicans in Congress.
The final number of points had not yet been agreed, an official briefed on the talks said, but the foundation continued to be based on the original American proposal — not on a separate European draft of the U.S. document that also circulated this weekend.
European suggestions were “helpful,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, but the Americans remained focused on their initial document as the framework for discussions.
Ukrainian and European officials had scrambled to adjust the controversial U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine that Kyiv was told to sign by Thanksgiving or risk losing all U.S. support to the country.
European officials, who fear being sidelined from talks to end the war, worked within the framework of the 28-point plan rather than introducing an entirely new document in part to avoid irritating the Americans.
They crafted their own amendments to the U.S. plan, countering conditions to restrict Ukraine’s military and preempt territorial concessions, according to the text seen by The Washington Post.
But Rubio appeared unaware of a counterproposal when asked about a European version at a news conference on Sunday, replying: “I haven’t seen any counterplan.”
“The issue right now is that we don’t really have a clear picture of what is being negotiated between the U.S. and Ukraine,” said one European diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks.
There is a sense of “mystery around the current phase of negotiations,” the diplomat said. “We are not on board. We are trying to get on board, but it is being met for the moment with some rejections from Americans.”
The rushed American approach to the talks this week, which came as European leaders attended a summit thousands of miles away in Angola, has added to the sense that the deal will be closed without European involvement — even as it directly implicates Europe.
European officials want “a structured approach with diplomats sitting together, huddling together and creating [something] that sounds like diplomacy rather than something written on ChatGPT, or the Russian version of it,” the diplomat said.
The modified European version raises the cap on Ukraine’s military from 600,000 forces to 800,000 “in peacetime,” and it requires negotiations on territorial exchanges to start from the line of contact.
The proposal refers to the U.S. giving Ukraine a security guarantee similar to NATO’s Article 5 — a mutual defense clause that an attack on one is an attack on all. It also rebuffs a clause on the use of Russia’s frozen assets, which are mostly held in Europe, saying that Ukraine would be rebuilt “including through Russian sovereign assets that will remain frozen until Russia compensates damage to Ukraine.”
Instead, the leaked initial plan floated by U.S. officials included recognizing “de facto” Russian control of specific regions of Ukraine, and it envisaged the U.S. getting a cut of profits of investments made in Ukraine with $100 billion in Russian sovereign assets, while returning the rest to Moscow.
The European document — first reported by Reuters — was prepared by France, Germany and Britain for weekend talks in Geneva between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators. It was not clear which document was the latest version under ongoing negotiations, with Kyiv pushing for changes to the U.S. plan. Rubio told reporters in Geneva that the early plan received “input from both sides” and that it was “a living, breathing document” that is changing “every day.”
President Donald Trump posted Monday on Truth Social that “something good just may be happening,” after a meeting Sunday between U.S. and Ukrainian officials reported positive progress toward a deal.
“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine???” Trump posted. “Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow had not received anything official on the “updated and refined peace framework” that was drafted at the Geneva meeting that included U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll.
“No, we have not received any information yet,” Peskov said in response to questions from the media. “We are, of course, closely monitoring the media reports that have been pouring in over the past few days, including from Geneva. But we have not received anything official yet.”
Peskov said Russia remained open to peace negotiations after President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that an earlier 28-point peace plan could “serve as the basis for a final peace settlement.”
It remains entirely unclear if Russia would be open to a new version of the document, which is likely to be more palatable to the Ukrainians and therefore less acceptable to the Russians — the paradox that has long fueled the impasse toward ending the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine was coordinating steps with the U.S. to develop documents to bring peace closer. He called on the international community to support Ukraine’s territorial integrity, with Kyiv under U.S. pressure to sign a deal in coming days.
“It is also extremely important to uphold the principles that Europe follows: Borders cannot be changed by force. Criminals must not remain unpunished. They must answer for the war they started,” he said, urging people to “not be silent; do not be passive observers of history, but be its participants.” Zelensky was speaking at a parliamentary summit of the Crimea Platform in Stockholm.
“These are important steps, but in order to truly achieve peace, more is needed,” Zelensky said. “Of course, we will continue working with our partners, especially with the United States, seeking a compromise that strengthens us rather than weakens us.”
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