US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the US delegation in Geneva on Sunday (November 23rd), said the US was making “some changes” to its peace plan after talks with Ukraine in its first appearance. Rubio said this in the presence of Ukrainian presidential adviser Andrii Yermak, while providing an update on the peace agreement negotiations in Geneva.
In his statement, Marco Rubio also praised the “tremendous progress” with Ukraine. “I feel very optimistic that we can do something here because we made huge progress today,” he said.
“I don’t want to declare victory or finality here. There’s still some work to be done, but at this time today, we’re a lot further than we were when we started this morning and where we were a week ago, for sure,” Rubio said.
Despite his optimism, Rubiodid did not offer much concrete information when asked by reporters.
The US and Ukraine are discussing a peace plan
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio led a US delegation that met with Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva on Sunday to try to develop a plan to end the conflict in Ukraine, which began in February 2022 with the Russian invasion.
US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve his controversial plan to end nearly four years of fighting.
But Kiev sought changes to the proposal that would accept a series of tough demands from Moscow, with a 28-point plan demanding the embattled country give up territory, scale back its military and pledge never to join NATO, Reuters reported.
US, Ukraine propose new ‘peace framework’
An official statement issued by the White House after the US-Ukraine talks in Geneva announced the new proposal, which appeared to indicate that the changes had indeed been made.
“The talks were constructive, focused and respectful, underscoring a shared commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace. joint statement he said.
“As a result of the discussions, the parties proposed an updated and refined peace framework,” the statement said.
She added that both sides agreed that the consultations were highly productive. “The discussions showed meaningful progress towards aligning positions and identifying clear next steps. They reaffirmed that any future agreement must fully support Ukraine’s sovereignty and ensure a sustainable and just peace,” it said.
The statement informed that the final decision in this framework will be made by the presidents of Ukraine and the USA. “Both sides reiterated their readiness to continue working together to secure a peace that will ensure the security, stability and reconstruction of Ukraine,” it added.
“Ukraine is not grateful”
All these events occurred after Donald Trump began to criticize the Ukrainian leadership on social networks. He said Ukraine was not grateful for the US war effort, prompting Ukrainian officials to emphasize their gratitude to the US president for his support.
He claimed it shows “ZERO GRATITUDE” to the United States – something we first heard back in February when he publicly berated Zelensky.
However, a joint statement from the White House read: “The Ukrainian delegation reaffirmed its gratitude for the unwavering commitment of the United States and President Donald J. Trump personally for their tireless efforts to end the war and loss of life.”
