US, Ukraine envoys see progress in peace plan

GENEVA — The United States and Ukraine said they had created an "updated and refined peace framework" to end the conflict with Russia that apparently modified an earlier plan drafted by the US administration.

In a joint statement released after talks in Geneva between the US and Ukrainian delegations, the two sides said their discussion was "highly productive" and said they would continue talks in the coming days. They did not provide specifics about a host of issues that must be resolved, including the security guarantee for Kyiv.

In a separate statement, the White House said the new version included strengthened security guarantees, and that the Ukrainian delegation had said it "reflects their national interests". Ukrainian officials did not provide a separate statement of their own and were not immediately available for comment.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the talks, told reporters in Geneva that work remained to be done on questions, including the role of NATO, but that his team had narrowed down unresolved issues in a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine championed by US President Donald Trump.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, said: "We have made very good progress and are moving forward to a just and lasting peace."

Earlier, Trump said Ukraine had not been grateful for US efforts over the conflict, prompting Ukrainian officials to stress their gratitude to the US president for his support.

Trump has said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has until Thursday to approve the plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.

Zelensky cheered the US-led efforts on security while stressing that "the crux of the entire diplomatic situation is that it was Russia, and only Russia, that started this war".

"Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump," Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram, adding, "We thank everyone in Europe."

Possible trip

Rubio said the US still needed time to address the pending issues. He hoped a deal could be reached by Thursday but suggested it could also take longer.

US and Ukrainian officials were discussing the possibility of Zelensky traveling to the US, maybe as early as this week, to discuss the US peace plan with Trump, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The main idea is that they would discuss the most sensitive issues in the peace plan, such as the matter of territory, one of the sources said. There is no confirmed date for now, the source added.

Rubio stressed that any final agreement would "have to be agreed upon by the presidents, and there are a couple of issues that we need to continue to work on" before trying to bring on board the Kremlin, which welcomed the original proposal.

The Kremlin said on Monday that it had not received any official information about the outcome of the Ukraine peace talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin would not be discussing details of any draft agreement via the media. He also said there were no plans yet for a meeting this week between Russian and US negotiators.

Since the US plan was announced, there has been confusion about who was involved in drawing it up. European allies said they had not been consulted.

EU countries were expected to discuss the Ukraine situation on the sidelines of a meeting with African leaders in Angola on Monday.

"Ukraine must have the freedom and sovereign right to choose its own destiny. They have chosen a European destiny," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, stressing that the "centrality" of the European Union's role must be "fully reflected" in any peace plan.

On Monday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that talks in Geneva on amending the plan had produced a "decisive success" for Europeans.

"All issues concerning Europe, including those concerning NATO, have been removed from this plan. This is a decisive success that we achieved yesterday," Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio.

Agencies via Xinhua