Negotiations in Geneva today regarding the war in Ukraine / Europeans also have a peace plan / Trump sent Rubio and Witkoff to Switzerland
Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio. Photo: Ludovic Marin / AP / Profimedia
Senior officials from the United States, Ukraine and national security advisers from France, Britain and Germany are meeting in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the Donald Trump administration's draft plan for ending the war in Ukraine.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also due to arrive for talks on ending the Russian invasion.
The meeting comes as Trump said on Friday that Volodymyr Zelenskiy has until Thursday to approve the 28-point plan, which calls for Ukraine to cede territory, accept limitations on its military and abandon ambitions to join NATO. The talks in Switzerland were announced by Kiev on Saturday, and the Ukrainian president approved the composition of his delegation and instructions for the negotiations.
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Nothing will be agreed without a Trump-Zelensky meeting
“We hope to work out the final details … to draft a favorable agreement for them (Ukraine),” a US official told Reuters.
“Nothing will be agreed until the two presidents meet,” referring to Trump and Zelenskiy.
Trump said on Saturday that his current proposal was not his final offer, the statement coming after Ukraine and its European allies stressed that Trump's proposed peace plan can be a basis for talks but requires “further efforts”.
US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived in Geneva ahead of the talks, and the Ukrainian delegation was due to arrive on Saturday night, the official said.
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The Europeans also have a plan to please
National security advisers from the so-called E3 alliance of France, Britain and Germany will join the talks, alongside the European Union. Italy will also send an official, diplomatic sources said.
European and other Western leaders said on Saturday that the US peace plan, which backs key Russian demands, is a basis for negotiations to end the war, but that “further efforts” are needed as they seek a better deal for Kiev ahead of a Thursday deadline.
A German government source said a draft European peace plan, based on the US proposal, had been sent to Ukraine and the US administration.
The US plan for Ukraine needs “further work”, 11 leaders, mostly European, said in a joint statement on Saturday after a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa.
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“A very difficult choice”
The 28-point Ukraine peace plan devised by the U.S. in collaboration with Russia requires Kiev to give up territories it still controls in the east of the country, limit the size of its military and agree never to join NATO, according to a draft obtained by Axios and verified by a Ukrainian official, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the proposal.
In a stark message to Ukrainians on Friday, Zelensky said the country “is facing a very difficult choice. It is one of the most difficult moments in our history.” The Kiev leader's signal came as Ukraine is being pressured by Donald Trump's administration to accept the peace plan negotiated by the United States with Russia.
Trump then confirmed that he had given Ukraine an ultimatum to accept his peace plan by next Thursday: “They're going to have to like it.”
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he accepted the peace plan proposed by Trump, threatening Ukraine and claiming that it and its European allies are “still deluding themselves”.
