In Geneva, U.S. and Ukrainian officials report progress toward ending war with Russia: NPR

GENEVA — Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials said Sunday they had made progress toward ending the war between Russia and Ukraine but provided few details after discussing a U.S. proposal to achieve peace that sparked concerns among many of Washington’s European allies that the plan would be too conciliatory with Moscow.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the high-stakes negotiations in Geneva were “very valuable” and the most productive day in a “very long time”.

“I’m very optimistic that we can do something,” Rubio said.

But he gave very little information about what was discussed. He also downplayed President Donald Trump’s Thursday deadline for Ukraine to respond to the plan, saying only that officials want to see the fighting stop as soon as possible and that they could continue negotiating Monday and beyond. He added that higher-level officials may eventually need to get involved.

“It’s a very delicate moment,” Rubio said of what remained to be resolved. “Some of them are semantics or language related. Others require higher level decisions and consultations. Others, I think, just need more time to get there.”

The 28-point plan drawn up by the United States to end a nearly four-year war has sparked concern in kyiv and European capitals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country could face a difficult choice between defending its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.

The Ukrainian leader has vowed that his people will “always defend” their country.

The proposal acquiesces to many Russian demands that Zelensky has flatly rejected dozens of times, including giving up large swaths of territory.

In a subsequent statement Sunday evening, the White House said the Ukrainian delegation “affirmed that all of its key concerns – security guarantees, long-term economic development, infrastructure protection, freedom of navigation and political sovereignty – were thoroughly addressed during the meeting.”

It adds that the Ukrainians “expressed appreciation for the structured approach taken to integrate their comments into each component of the new settlement framework.” The White House said the changes to the proposal now reflected “their national interests” and provided “credible and enforceable mechanisms to safeguard Ukraine’s security in the short and long term.”

But such positive steps were only mooted after concerns about the initial deal approved by Trump intensified. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators said Rubio told them on Saturday that the plan came from Russia and was actually a “wish list” for Moscow, rather than a serious effort for peace.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had spoken to Trump and made clear that there were some parts of the plans that major European nations could agree on but others they could not.

“I told him that we completely agree with Ukraine and that the sovereignty of this country should not be put in danger,” Merz said in an interview with DW.

Rubio touts progress in negotiations, says efforts will continue

Rubio called the U.S. proposal a “living document” that would continue to evolve. He also made it clear that any final product – once ready – would still have to be presented to Moscow: “obviously the Russians get a vote here.”

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Presidential Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak, said of the talks: “We have made very good progress and are moving towards a just and lasting peace,” he said.

The optimistic assessment of what was discussed challenged Trump himself. Before negotiations began, the president lambasted Ukraine for its lack of gratitude for U.S. military aid, while avoiding criticizing Russia.

Trump set a Thursday deadline for Ukraine to respond to the plan, but also suggested it could be delayed if there was evidence of real progress. He also said this plan was not his final offer – without giving further details on what that meant.

“The Ukrainian ‘leadership’ has expressed no gratitude for our efforts, and Europe continues to buy oil from Russia,” Trump said on his social network Sunday morning.

After Trump’s message, Zelensky praised US security efforts, while emphasizing that “the crux of the whole diplomatic situation is that it was Russia, and only Russia, that started this war.”

“Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to all American hearts and personally to President Trump,” Zelenskyy wrote in a message on Telegram, adding: “We thank everyone in Europe.”

“It is important not to forget the main goal: to stop the Russian war and prevent its resumption,” he added.

Ukraine and its allies have ruled out any territorial concessions

Before meeting with U.S. officials, Yermak and his team also met with national security advisers from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Allies gathered around Kyiv to try to revise the plan.

Alice Rufo, French Minister Delegate at the Defense Ministry, told France Info channel before the start of negotiations that key points of the discussion would include the plan’s restrictions on Ukraine’s military, which she called “a limitation of its sovereignty.”

“Ukraine must be able to defend itself,” she said. “Russia wants war and has done so several times in recent years.”

On Sunday, Zelensky said it was understood the United States would consider “a number of elements” in a peace deal that are important to Ukraine, but did not elaborate.

“The team has already made brief reports on the results of the first meetings and conversations,” he said. “It is now recognized that the US proposals can take into account a number of elements based on the Ukrainian vision and that they are of crucial importance to Ukraine’s national interests.”

Rubio’s reported comments sow confusion

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday that Warsaw was ready to work on the plan with European, Canadian and Japanese leaders, but also said it “would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where it was created.”

Some U.S. lawmakers said Saturday that Rubio had described the plan as a Russian “wish list” rather than a Washington-led proposal. A spokesperson for the US State Department said this version was “patently false”. En route to Geneva, Rubio then took the extraordinary step of suggesting online that the senators had been mistaken, even though they said he was their source of information.

The question was still making a lot of noise on Sunday.

The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner, told ABC’s “This Week” that the peace plan appeared to be “almost a series of Russian talking points,” left Europeans “feeling totally left behind” and led to “a fierce backlash.”

Turkish leader plans talks with Putin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would speak by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. He said he would discuss with Putin the revival of a previous July 2022 deal that allowed Ukraine to safely ship its grain exports via the Black Sea.

The deal remained in force until the following year, when Putin refused to extend it, saying a side deal promising to remove barriers to Russian exports of food and fertilizer had not been honored.

“We have undertaken a grain corridor project to pave the way for peace,” Erdogan said. “Unfortunately, we only partially succeeded. Tomorrow I will ask Putin to reconsider this business.”

Erdogan’s new diplomatic initiative comes just days after his meeting with Zelensky in Ankara.