The United States and Ukraine have said they have produced an "updated and refined peace framework" to end the war with Russia, following criticism of pro-Russian elements in an earlier plan leaked last week. The joint statement came after European countries proposed their own alternative framework at the weekend.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, emerged from talks in Switzerland with a Ukrainian delegation led by Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, saying he was "very optimistic" about progress. The two countries said any eventual deal would "fully uphold" Ukraine's sovereignty.
The original 28-point US document, which was leaked, demanded that Ukraine cede territory to Russia, cap the size of its army, and agree not to pursue the Kremlin for alleged war crimes. President Donald Trump said Ukraine had shown "zero gratitude" for US efforts, while President Zelenskyy said he was grateful for American military assistance.
European allies, caught off guard by Washington's initiative, published their own plan on Sunday. It proposes that territorial negotiations begin only after a ceasefire, starting from the existing frontline, with monitoring "under US supervision". Unlike the US text, it does not require Kyiv to withdraw from cities it controls in eastern Donbas, nor rule out Nato membership. It also suggests handing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to the IAEA, splitting power output between Moscow and Kyiv, and capping Ukraine's peacetime army at 800,000 soldiers.
The authorship of the original plan has been disputed. Reports said it was drawn up by Vladimir Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and Steve Witkoff, Trump's special representative, and may have been written in Russian. Some US senators said Rubio had told them it was a Russian document deliberately leaked by Moscow, though he later insisted the US was the author. Trump has since rowed back from demands for a swift signing, saying it was "not my final offer".
After the Geneva talks, Rubio said "tremendous progress" had been made, adding: "I feel very optimistic that we're going to get there in a very reasonable period of time, very soon." Yermak said the sides were moving towards "the just and lasting peace Ukrainian people deserve".
