The Trump administration on Sunday expressed confidence that the latest negotiations to end the Ukraine war mark the “most productive” discussions Washington has spearheaded to seal a peace deal since the conflict began nearly four years ago.
The talks the U.S. has been involved in over the weekend in Geneva with leading Ukrainian and European officials are “probably the most productive and meaningful meeting we’ve had so far in this entire process since we became involved,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
“We’re making some changes and adjustments in hopes of further narrowing the differences and getting closer to an outcome that both Ukraine and the United States can be comfortable with,” Rubio told reporters, referencing the 28-point draft proposal President Donald Trump’s team disclosed last week that outlined the framework for a potential peace deal.
His words come despite concerns from key European partners that critical tenets of Trump’s deal cater to Russia, undermining long-term Ukrainian security, and setting the stage for war to potentially erupt again. Britain, France, and Germany on Sunday released an alternative peace plan that modified aspects of Washington’s proposal, making them more favorable to Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Rubio said during a press briefing Sunday that he had not seen any European counter-proposal. Delegates will meet again in Geneva on Monday to keep working toward a deal, he continued, adding that progress towards peace has significantly sped up in the last 96 hours.
Trump’s peace proposal could be further complicated due to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) call over the weekend for any deal containing future security guarantees for Ukraine to first receive congressional approval.
Still, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, like Rubio, has echoed U.S. optimism that a deal could be coming down the pipeline. And in an update on the Geneva talks on Sunday, Zelensky expressed thanks to the U.S. for leading peace talks, saying “it is important that there is dialogue, that diplomacy has been reinvigorated.”
“We are grateful for everything that America and President Trump are doing for security, and we keep working as constructively as possible,” the Ukrainian president said in a message to X.
“We work so carefully on every point, on every step toward peace. Everything must work out the right way – so that this war is truly ended and so that it does not happen again,” Zelensky added, saying in another appreciation post to Trump that “Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the assistance that….has been saving Ukrainian lives.”
Zelensky’s comments came hours after Trump expressed frustration with the “violent and terrible” Ukraine war in a stormy post to Truth Social, which mourned “the lives that have been lost in the human catastrophe” and slammed “Ukraine ‘leadership’ [that] has expressed zero gratitude” for U.S. peace efforts.
UKRAINE ALLIES VOICE CONCERNS OVER US PEACE PLAN AS NEGOTIATORS DESCEND ON GENEVA
Rubio said Sunday that Trump is “quite pleased” about the progress made in Geneva thus far with peace talks, and weighed in on whether the U.S is receptive to the idea of providing security guarantees to Zelensky.
“We all recognize that part of getting a final end to this war will require for Ukraine to feel that it is safe,” the Secretary of State said. “That’s clearly something that has to be discussed. I think we’ve made substantial progress on that and other points.”
