Ukraine and Western allies meet in Geneva as Zelensky eyes ‘positive result’
Top European and Ukrainian envoys are meeting in Geneva ahead of talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio over President Donald Trump’s proposal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak, wrote on social media that they have held their first meeting with the national security advisers from Britain, France and Germany.
The allies have rallied around Kyiv in a push to revise the plan, which is seen as favouring Moscow.
“The next meeting is with the US delegation,” Mr Yermak said. “We are in a very constructive mood. We continue working together to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine.”
Mr Rubio is expected to join the talks together with army secretary Dan Driscoll and Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he awaits the outcome of the talks, stressing a “positive result is needed for all of us”.
He wrote on Telegram on Sunday: “Ukrainian and American teams, teams of our European partners, are in close contact, and I very much hope there will be a result.
“Bloodshed must be stopped and it must be guaranteed that the war will not be reignited.”
In a later post, he said there is an understanding the US would take into account “a number of elements” in a peace deal that are important for Ukraine.
“There have already been brief reports from the team about the results of the first meetings and conversations,” he said.
“There is now an understanding that the American proposals may take into account a number of elements based on the Ukrainian vision and are critically important for Ukraine’s national interests.
“Further work is ongoing to ensure that all elements are truly effective in achieving the main goal our people hope for – ultimately putting an end to the bloodshed and the war.”
The 28-point blueprint to end the nearly four-year war has sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals. Mr Zelensky has previous said his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.
The plan acquiesces to many Russian demands that Mr Zelensky has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory. The Ukrainian leader has vowed that his people “will always defend” their home.
Meanwhile, Mr Rubio and the US State Department has denied claims that he said the peace plan Mr Trump is pushing Kyiv to accept is a “wish list” of the Russians and not the actual proposal offering Washington’s position.
A group of US senators claim Mr Rubio made the comment to them.
“This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form,” said Republican Mike Rounds, speaking at a security conference in Canada. “They want to utilise it as a starting point.”
He said “it looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with”.
The senators said they spoke to Mr Rubio after he contacted some of them on his way to Geneva for talks on the plan. Senator Angus King said Mr Rubio told them the plan “was not the administration’s plan” but a “wish list of the Russians”.
A State Department spokesperson denied their account, calling it “blatantly false”.
Mr Rubio himself then took the extraordinary step of suggesting online that the senators were mistaken, even though they said he was their source for the information. The secretary of state doubled down on the assertion that Washington was responsible for a proposal that had surprised many from the beginning for being so favourable to Moscow.
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