US and Ukrainian officials reported progress in efforts to end the war with Russia after talks in Geneva, but provided no details on how some deep disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv were to be resolved.
Speaking to reporters after a day of negotiations with Ukrainian and European officials, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said a “tremendous” amount of progress had been made, characterising it as one of the most productive days yet in talks.
“I feel very optimistic that we’re going to get there in a very reasonable period of time,” he said.
Rubio said talks on the plan would continue in order to resolve a number of outstanding issues. “I don’t want to declare victory or finality here. There’s still some work to be done,” he said.
The secretary of state would not say if any breakthroughs had been made on some of the more contentious points of the 28-point plan, including its demand that Ukraine surrender territory in the Donbas region that remains under Kyiv’s control.
The final text of the agreement will need sign-off from the presidents of Ukraine and the US, before being sent to Moscow, Rubio said on Sunday.
A joint statement issued by the US and Ukraine described the talks as “constructive, focused, and respectful”.
“The discussions showed meaningful progress toward aligning positions and identifying clear next steps. They reaffirmed that any future agreement must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and deliver a sustainable and just peace,” it said.
The talks began under a cloud, with US President Donald Trump hitting out on social media on Sunday at European and Ukrainian leaders for failing to agree to a truce.
The White House has piled pressure on Ukraine and its allies to force them into a deal with Moscow, triggering concern in European capitals and in Washington that it was acquiescing to Russia’s demands.
Sunday’s talks rounded out a weekend of diplomatic whiplash. After pressing Ukraine to accept the deal by Thursday, Trump said the plan was not America’s “final offer”. Rubio then reportedly sought to distance Washington from the proposal, before insisting hours later the US had authored it.
One European official described the situation within the Trump administration as “messy”.
National security advisers from France, Germany, the UK and EU met in Geneva on Sunday alongside US and Ukrainian counterparts, including Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff — one of the authors of the plan — and US army secretary Daniel Driscoll, a close ally of US vice-president JD Vance.
They met Ukraine’s delegation — led by Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, and the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Rustem Umerov — before being joined by European representatives.
In his remarks on Sunday evening, Rubio said he had assured European officials that any elements of the plan that directly concerned Europe or Nato would be put into a “separate track” in the talks, as they needed their input.
Republican lawmakers are split over the proposals. Several senators — including former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and staunch Trump ally Lindsey Graham — have publicly criticised the plan.
“Vladimir Putin is a murderer, a rapist and an assassin and we should not do anything that makes him feel like he has a win here,” said Republican senator Thom Tillis, speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum. “Any agreement has to be an agreement that the people of Ukraine want.”
However, Republican senator Eric Schmitt defended Trump’s “realist” approach.
“The truth of the matter is, and a lot of people won’t say it, is the Ukrainians have been losing for a long time,” Schmitt told Fox News on Sunday.
Michael McCaul, a Republican congressman who previously chaired the House foreign affairs committee, told ABC News “about 80 per cent” of the plan would probably find agreement in Geneva, but “the problem is going to be the 20 per cent of really tough items to negotiate”.
European nations had mounted a rearguard action to slow down US efforts to force the plan on Ukraine.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said: “Any credible and sustainable peace plan should first and foremost stop the killing and end the war, while not sowing the seeds for a future conflict.”
Three elements were critical, she said: “First, borders cannot be changed by force. Second, as a sovereign nation there cannot be limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces [and] third, the centrality of the European Union in securing peace for Ukraine must be fully reflected.”
The original US plan crossed several long-standing Ukrainian red lines, including handing over the rest of Donetsk province, which Russia has been unable to seize since it began its offensive there in 2014.
One European official spoke of fears that Trump could withdraw US support from Ukraine in frustration, leaving Zelenskyy and his country dangerously exposed. “That’s a scenario we are obviously planning for,” they said.
European diplomats expect further meetings in the coming week between France, Germany and the UK. Other possible participants could include leaders of Poland, Finland and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.
“We are trying to come up with something that flies as a counter-offer,” the European diplomat said.
Additional reporting by Laura Pitel in Berlin and George Parker in London
