Ukraine and U.S. cite progress in talks on ending war with Russia
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
By CASSANDRA VINOGRAD
Ukrainian and U.S. officials said they had made good progress Sunday in talks about a controversial U.S. plan to end the war with Russia, even as President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian leaders accusing them of ingratitude.
The talks, held in Geneva, convened before a Thursday deadline — set by Trump — for Ukraine to agree to the 28-point peace plan. The draft proposal contained many conditions that Ukraine has long rejected as unacceptable, including surrendering territory, slashing the size of its army and giving up some types of weaponry.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the U.S. delegation along with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, called Sunday’s discussions “productive” and “very, very meaningful.”
He told journalists in Geneva that the American and Ukrainian teams were working through the peace plan point by point and making adjustments, “narrowing the differences and getting closer to something” that both Kyiv and Washington would be “comfortable with.”
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s delegation, confirmed that “very good progress” had been made, telling reporters the discussions would continue Sunday and in the days ahead.
The cautiously optimistic — and seemingly aligned — remarks came shortly after Trump issued a lengthy missive on social media that criticized Ukraine, as well as its European allies, which have been largely excluded from the plan.
“Ukraine ‘leadership’ has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts,” Trump wrote, “and Europe continues to buy oil from Russia.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who had earlier said Kyiv’s delegation was “focused on working as constructively as possible on the steps proposed by the United States,” issued a statement of his own soon afterward that expressed support for the dialogue in Geneva.
“The leadership of the United States is important, we are grateful for everything that America and President Trump are doing for security, and we keep working as constructively as possible,” he wrote on social media.
Sunday was not the first time that the American president has accused Ukraine of insufficient gratitude. During a disastrous meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February, he told the Ukrainian leader that he was not doing enough to thank the United States for its support. Since then, Zelenskyy and other members of his administration have taken pains to express their gratitude.
Ukraine’s European allies have been racing to respond to the plan and to demonstrate their continued support for Kyiv. A joint statement Saturday signed by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and other countries said the American proposal was a starting point for discussions and called for “additional work.” The leaders urged changes to the plan’s most objectionable points for Ukraine, including a cap on the size of its military.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, reasserted that point in a statement Sunday. “As a sovereign nation there cannot be limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces that would leave the country vulnerable to future attack,” she said. That, she said, would also undermine European security.
There was no immediate comment Sunday from the Kremlin about the talks in Geneva. A U.S. official said earlier that plans for separate talks between the United States and Russia were underway.
A flurry of other diplomatic efforts are expected in the coming days.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who has offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, said he expected to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the peace efforts Monday. And President Emmanuel Macron of France suggested that there would be a meeting involving the leaders of Britain, Canada and several other nations Tuesday.
While Trump has said he wants Ukraine’s response to the peace plan by Thursday, he has left open the possibility that the deadline could be extended “if things are working well.”
When asked by reporters Saturday whether this was his “final offer” on Ukraine, Trump said, “No.”
Many Ukrainians have dismissed the U.S. plan as capitulation because it accedes to long-standing Kremlin demands.
There also seemed to be continued confusion about the proposal, including among lawmakers. A group of U.S. senators claimed Saturday that Rubio had told them that the document “was not the administration’s plan” but a “wish list of the Russians.”
The State Department said that was “blatantly false,” and Rubio also rejected the characterization, writing on social media that “the peace proposal was authored by the U.S.”
“It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations,” he said. “It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”