European allies said they were not consulted while Washington was drafting the plan, leading to some confusion as to which parties were involved.
Officials from the United States, Europe, and Ukraine met in Geneva on Nov. 23 to discuss Washington’s draft plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Nov. 21 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had until Thursday to approve the 28-point plan, which would compel Ukraine to renounce ambitions to join NATO, accept limits on its military, and cede territory.
For many in Ukraine, including those who have fought on the front lines for nearly four years, those terms are seen as potential capitulation after defending territory following an invasion that resulted in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two. However, Trump said on Saturday that the current U.S. proposal to end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war is not the U.S. president’s final offer.
European allies said they were not consulted while Washington was drafting the plan, leading to some confusion as to which parties were involved in formulating it.
Late Saturday evening, before traveling to Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that the United States had authored the plan with “input from the Russia side” but “also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
Multiple U.S. lawmakers had suggested that Russia had delivered the plan to U.S. officials.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told reporters at a conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that Rubio had told him and other senators that “we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives.”
“It is not our recommendation, it is not our plan,” Rounds added.
Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) told MSNBC that he believed the plan was “basically drafted by Putin.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media on Sunday that Poland, Europe, Canada, and Japan are ready to get to work on the plan, but that “it would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where [it was] created.”
Zelenskyy celebrated Sunday’s meeting in Geneva and said, “It is good that diplomacy has been reinvigorated and that the conversation can be constructive.”
“The Ukrainian and American teams, as well as the teams of our European partners, are in close contact, and I do hope that there will be a result. The bloodshed must be stopped, and we must ensure that the war is never reignited,” he wrote on social media. “I am awaiting the results of today’s talks and hope that all participants will be constructive. We all need a positive outcome.”
The Ukrainian president had individually thanked all of Kyiv’s allies present at the meeting in Geneva in various posts on X late Saturday and early on Sunday.
By Jacob Burg
