The United States and Ukraine say they have made major progress on an updated peace framework aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, following high-level negotiations in Geneva on Sunday.
In a joint statement, both countries described the talks as “highly productive” and said work would continue “intensively” in the coming days to finalise a refined version of the US-backed plan. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiators had made a “tremendous amount of progress”, though several issues still needed to be ironed out before any proposal could be presented to Moscow.
The peace blueprint has drawn intense global scrutiny since details from an earlier draft leaked last week. While Russia reacted cautiously positively to the initial outline, several leaders in Kyiv and across Europe rejected it as too favourable to the Kremlin.
Rubio said Sunday’s meeting focused on narrowing down unresolved elements from the 28-point draft, and that negotiators had succeeded “in a substantial way”. Any final agreement would need the approval of both the US and Ukrainian presidents before being shared with Russia.
The statement came hours after US President Donald Trump publicly criticised Ukraine’s leadership for showing “zero gratitude” over Washington’s efforts to end the conflict, noting that European countries continued to purchase Russian oil even as they backed Kyiv diplomatically.
Media reports have also suggested that the UK, France, and Germany are preparing their own alternative peace proposal, though Rubio denied knowledge of such a document and the US State Department dismissed related claims.
Key points in the leaked US draft include Ukraine withdrawing troops from parts of the Donetsk region it currently holds, the freezing of battle lines in southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and international acceptance of Russian control over Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk. The proposal also suggests limiting Ukraine’s military to 600,000 personnel and requires Kyiv to forgo future NATO membership in exchange for unspecified “security guarantees”.
Another provision proposes Russia’s reintegration into the global economy through sanctions relief and a potential return to the G8.
Trump previously gave Ukraine a Thursday deadline to accept the proposal, though he later clarified that the draft was not a “final offer”. Rubio echoed that sentiment on Sunday, saying he was “very optimistic” that a workable agreement could be reached soon.
The US has also rejected claims from a bipartisan group of senators who said Rubio told them the draft originated from Russia. Rubio insists the plan was authored by Washington with input from both Kyiv and Moscow.
The Geneva discussions come as Russia continues missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, and as concern grows in Kyiv that Western unity on the war may be weakening.
