U.S. And Ukraine Talk ‘Refined’ Peace Plan As Trump Ratchets Up The Pressure
GENEVA, Nov 24 (Reuters) – The United States and Ukraine agreed on Monday to continue working on a plan to end the war with Russia, after agreeing to amend an earlier proposal seen as too favorable to Moscow.
The two sides said in a joint statement that they had prepared a draft “refined peace framework” following the talks held in Geneva on Sunday, but did not provide details.
The White House also said the Ukrainian delegation told them it “reflected its national interests” and “meets its basic strategic requirements,” but Kiev did not release its own statement.
It was unclear how the updated plan would address a number of issues, including how to guarantee Ukraine’s security against ongoing threats from Russia. The United States and Ukraine said they would continue to “work hard” ahead of a deadline set on Thursday, even as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the American delegation during the talks, returned to Washington late Sunday.
US President Donald Trump continued to pressure Ukraine to reach an agreement. He said on Sunday that Ukraine had shown “zero gratitude” for America’s efforts on the war, prompting Ukrainian officials to emphasize their thanks to Trump for his support.
Trump had previously set a Thursday deadline for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept his peace plan, but Rubio said Sunday that deadline may not be finalized.
According to sources close to the matter, Zelenskyy may go to the United States as soon as this week to discuss the most sensitive aspects of the plan with Trump.
The first 28-article proposal put forward by the USA last week called for Ukraine to cede its territory, limit its army and give up its goal of joining NATO. These terms would amount to surrender for many Ukrainians after nearly four years of fighting in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
The original plan came as a surprise to U.S. officials in the administration, and two sources said Saturday that it was drawn up at a meeting in Miami in October that included special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who is under U.S. sanctions.
European Nations Issue Counter Proposal
Democratic lawmakers criticized the plan as essentially Russia’s wish list, but Rubio insisted Washington wrote the plan with input from both sides in the war.
European allies have said they were not involved in drafting the original plan and on Sunday issued a counter-proposal that would ease some of the proposed territorial concessions and give Ukraine a NATO-style security guarantee from the United States if it were attacked.
The talks come at a time when Russia is slowly making progress in some regions, Ukraine’s power and gas facilities are being hit by drone and missile attacks, and millions of people are left without water, heating and electricity for hours every day.
Zelenskyy is also under pressure at home as a major corruption scandal that has ensnared some of his ministers has sparked new anger over widespread corruption. This has complicated efforts to obtain financing to keep the country’s economy afloat.
Kiev had been emboldened in recent weeks after the United States tightened sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, the main source of finance for the war, and its own long-range drone and missile strikes severely damaged the sector.
(Reporting by Olivia de Poidevin; Additional reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Diane Craft, Sergio Non and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
