GENEVA (AP) 鈥� Top U.S. and Ukrainian officials said Sunday they’d made progress toward ending the but provided scant details after discussing the to achieve peace that has sparked concerns among many of Washington鈥檚 European allies that the plan is too conciliatory to Moscow.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said high-stakes talks in Geneva were 鈥渧ery worthwhile鈥� and constituted the most productive day in 鈥渁 very long time.”
鈥淚 feel very optimistic that we can get something done,鈥� Rubio said.
But he offered very little information on what was discussed. He also downplayed a Thursday deadline set by President Donald Trump for Ukraine to respond to the plan, saying simply that officials want to see fighting stop as soon as possible and that officials could keep negotiating Monday and beyond. He said that higher-level officials may eventually have to get involved.
鈥淭his is a very delicate moment,鈥� Rubio said of what still needed to be worked out. 鈥淪ome of it is semantics, or language. Others require higher-level decisions and consultations. Others, I think, just need more time to work through.鈥�
The drawn up by the U.S. to end the nearly four-year war has sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.
The Ukrainian leader has vowed that his people 鈥渨ill always defend鈥� their home.
acquiesces to many Russian demands that Zelenskyy has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory.
In a subsequent statement Sunday night, the White House said the Ukrainian delegation 鈥渁ffirmed that all of their principal concerns 鈥� security guarantees, long-term economic development, infrastructure protection, freedom of navigation, and political sovereignty 鈥� were thoroughly addressed during the meeting.鈥�
It added that the Ukrainians 鈥渆xpressed appreciation for the structured approach taken to incorporate their feedback into each component of the emerging settlement framework.鈥� The White House said changes made to the proposal now reflect 鈥渢heir national interests” and provide “credible and enforceable mechanisms to safeguard Ukraine鈥檚 security in both the near and long term.鈥�
But language of such positive steps came only after concerns about the original, Trump-endorsed deal intensified. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators said Rubio told them Saturday that the plan had originated with Russia and was actually a 鈥渨ish list鈥� for Moscow, rather than a serious push for peace.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he鈥檇 spoken to Trump and made clear there were some parts of the plans key European nations could agree on but others where they could not.
鈥淚 told him that we are fully in line with Ukraine, that the sovereignty of this country must not be jeopardized,鈥� Merz said in an interview with DW.
Rubio touts progress on talks, saying efforts will continue
Rubio called the U.S. proposal a 鈥渓iving breathing document鈥� that would continue changing. He also made, clear though, that any final product 鈥� once it鈥檚 ready 鈥� will still have to be presented to Moscow: 鈥渙bviously, the Russians get a vote here.鈥�
The head of the , presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak, said of the talks, 鈥淲e have made very good progress and are moving forward to a just and lasting peace,鈥� he said.
The rosy assessment of what was discussed defied Trump himself. Before talks began, the president blasted Ukraine for a lack of gratitude for U.S. military assistance while shying away from criticizing Russia.
Trump has set a Thursday deadline for Ukraine to respond to the plan but also suggested it could slide if there was proof of real progress. He also said that the plan was not his final offer 鈥� without offering further details on what that meant.
鈥淯KRAINE 鈥楲EADERSHIP鈥� HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA,鈥� Trump posted on his social media site Sunday morning.
After Trump鈥檚 post, Zelenskyy cheered U.S.-led efforts on security while also stressing that 鈥渢he crux of the entire diplomatic situation is that it was Russia, and only Russia, that started this war.鈥�
鈥淯kraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump,鈥� Zelenskyy wrote in a post on Telegram, adding, 鈥淲e thank everyone in Europe.鈥�
鈥淚t is important not to forget the main goal 鈥� to stop Russia鈥檚 war and prevent it from ever igniting again,鈥� he added.
Ukraine and allies have ruled out territorial concessions
Before convening with U.S. officials, Yermak and his team also met with national security advisers from the U.K., France and Germany. The allies have rallied around Kyiv in a push to revise .
Alice Rufo, France鈥檚 minister delegate at the Defense Ministry, told broadcaster France Info before the talks began that key points of discussion would include the plan鈥檚 restrictions on the Ukrainian army, which she described as 鈥渁 limitation on its sovereignty.鈥�
鈥淯kraine must be able to defend itself,鈥� she said. 鈥淩ussia wants war and waged war many times in fact over the past years.鈥�
On Sunday, Zelenskyy said that there was an understanding the U.S. would take into account 鈥渁 number of elements鈥� in a peace deal that are important for Ukraine, but did not elaborate further.
鈥淭here have already been brief reports from the team about the results of the first meetings and conversations,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is now an understanding that the American proposals may take into account a number of elements based on the Ukrainian vision and are critically important for Ukraine鈥檚 national interests.鈥�
Rubio’s reported comments cause confusion
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday that Warsaw was ready to work on the plan with the leaders of Europe, Canada and Japan, but also said that it 鈥渨ould be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created.”
Some U.S. lawmakers said Saturday that Rubio had described the plan as a Russian 鈥渨ish list鈥� rather than a Washington-led proposal. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that account was 鈥渂latantly false.鈥� On his way to Geneva, Rubio then took the extraordinary step of suggesting online that the senators were mistaken, even though they said he was their source for the information.
The issue was still causing a stir on Sunday.
The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner, told ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� that the peace plan appeared to be 鈥渁lmost a series of Russian talking points,鈥� had made Europeans 鈥渇eel like they鈥檝e been totally left high and dry鈥� and had led to 鈥渇erocious pushback.鈥�
Turkish leader plans talk with Putin
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. He said he would talk to Putin about that allowed Ukraine to safely ship exports of grain via the Black Sea.
The agreement stayed in place until the following year, when Putin , saying that a parallel agreement promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertilizer hadn鈥檛 been honored.
鈥淲e had a grain corridor endeavor to open the path to peace,鈥� Erdogan said, 鈥淯nfortunately we were only partially able to succeed. Tomorrow I will be asking Putin to revisit the endeavor.鈥�
Erdogan’s new diplomatic push comes just days after he met with Zelenskyy in Ankara.
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Davies reported from Manchester, England, and Weissert from Washington. Associated Press writers Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland; Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine; Cinar Kiper in Istanbul; and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
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