Rubio praises ‘tremendous progress’ in Ukraine peace talks

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “tremendous progress” has been made in talks to finalize a U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

But Rubio said after meeting with Ukrainian and European negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland, that “there is still some work to be done.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were “signs that President (Donald) Trump’s team is listening to us.”

Ukraine and its European allies have expressed concern over the leaked proposals, which are seen as benefiting Russia and welcomed by Vladimir Putin as a “basis” for solving the problem. Zelensky once said that Ukraine “may face a very difficult choice: either lose its dignity or risk losing a key partner.”

Rubio told reporters Sunday night that the Geneva negotiating team had a “very good day.”

He said that the main goal is to try to narrow the “pending projects” in the US 28-point plan, and the relevant parties have “substantially” achieved this goal.

However, the top US diplomat added that any final deal would have to be agreed to by the presidents of Ukraine and the US – before the package is sent to Russia – and that they would still need to continue to iron out some issues.

Multiple media outlets reported that they had seen alternative plans put forward by Kyiv’s European allies, led by Britain, France and Germany. The BBC has not seen the document, and Rubio has denied knowledge of its existence.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump accused Ukraine’s leaders of showing “zero gratitude” for U.S. efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The US president also noted that Europe – where Kyiv has some of its staunchest allies – is continuing to buy oil from Russia.

Moscow relies heavily on oil and gas exports to continue funding the war in Ukraine.

The focus of the Geneva talks is a U.S. draft, which leaked includes the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the eastern Donetsk region it currently controls, as well as Russia’s de facto control of Donetsk and the neighboring Luhansk region and the southern Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.

The plan also includes freezing borders along current fronts in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions of southern Ukraine. Both areas are partially occupied by Russia.

The US plan also limits the number of Ukrainian troops to 600,000 – currently around 880,000.

Key elements of the draft include Ukraine’s commitment not to seek membership in NATO. Instead, Kyiv will receive “reliable security guarantees,” although details have not yet been revealed.

The document said Russia was “not expected” to invade its neighbors and that NATO would not expand further.

The draft also recommends that Russia will “reintegrate into the global economy” by lifting sanctions and inviting Russia to rejoin the Group of Seven, a group of the world’s most powerful countries – making it the Group of Eight again.

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine, and despite reports of heavy losses, Russian forces have been advancing slowly along a vast frontline.

Trump has given Ukraine until Thursday to agree to the proposals.

But he later said it was not his “final proposal” to Kyiv after Ukraine’s European, Canadian and Japanese allies expressed concerns.

Rubio told reporters on Sunday that he was “very optimistic that we’re going to get there very quickly in a very reasonable time frame,” whether that’s Thursday, another day or Monday next week.