US and Ukraine signal peace plan progress after Geneva talks

US and Ukrainian negotiators have drawn up an “updated and refined peace framework”, and plan to continue work on a peace plan over the coming days, the countries announced on Sunday.

A joint statement said talks on a US-backed plan in Geneva, which are now understood to have concluded, were “highly productive”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been a “tremendous amount of progress” on honing the plan, but there was “still some work to be done” before a final agreement could be put to Russia.

The plan’s original draft, details of which were leaked last week, was cautiously welcomed by Russia, but not by leaders in Kyiv and Europe, who saw it as too favourable to the Kremlin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday that Moscow has not yet received any information about the outcome of the US-Ukraine talks in Geneva.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were “signals that President [Donald] Trump’s team is hearing us”.

Addressing the Swedish parliament on Monday morning, Zelensky called it a “critical moment” for Ukraine.

“Putin wants legal recognition for what he has stolen, to break the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty. That’s the main problem,” he said, adding that the Russian president wants it not only from Ukraine “but from the whole world”.

He explained that Ukraine has managed to keep “sensitive points”, such as the release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war, on the table during the talks as he said there is still more to do to achieve “real peace”.

Speaking to reporters late on Sunday, Rubio said the negotiating teams in Geneva had had a “very good day”.

He said the main goal had been to try to narrow “open items” from the 28-point US plan, and that the parties involved had achieved that in a “substantial way”.

However, America’s top diplomat said any final agreement would have to be agreed by the Ukrainian and US presidents before it could be put to Russia, and that there were still some issues being negotiated.

Positive accounts of the meeting came hours after Trump accused Ukraine’s leaders of showing “zero gratitude” for US efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

The US president also pointed out that Europe – where Kyiv has some of its most loyal allies – was continuing to buy oil from Russia. Moscow relies heavily on its oil and gas exports to continue financing its war in Ukraine.

European leaders have noted that progress was made in Sunday’s talks but also said that more work is needed.

In a post on X on Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he spoke with President Zelensky on Monday morning.

“The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved,” Stubb said.

“Any decision falling in the remit of EU or Nato will be discussed and decided by EU and Nato members in a separate track.”

Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the “significant progress” during Sunday’s talks, according to a spokesperson for the UK Prime Minister.

“Of course, there are some outstanding issues, but as both countries have set out, intensive work on the peace plan will continue in the coming days and weeks,” the spokesperson added.

Separately, according to comments reported by the Reuters news agency, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio that the meetings were a “decisive success” for Europeans – with issues relating to Europe, and Nato, removed from the plan.

“It was clear from the outset, as we have repeatedly said, that any agreement must not be reached over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians,” he added.

European Council President Antonio Costa also spoke with Zelensky on Monday morning.

“A united and coordinated EU position is key in ensuring a good outcome of peace negotiations – for Ukraine and for Europe,” he said in a post on X.

Several media outlets, including Reuters news agency, reported the text of an alternative plan to end the war drafted by Kyiv’s European allies, lead by the UK, France and Germany. The BBC has not independently verified its contents and Rubio denied any knowledge of its existence.

While the draft of the US-backed plan has not been published in full, major details have leaked in recent days.

Controversial provisions include Ukraine agreeing to withdraw troops from parts of the eastern Donetsk region that they currently control, and international recognition of de facto Russian control of Donetsk, the neighbouring Luhansk region and the southern Crimea peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

The plan also includes freezing the borders of Ukraine’s southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions along the current battle lines, and would see Ukraine agreeing to limit the size of its military to 600,000 personnel, down from about 880,000 now.

The draft crucially includes a pledge for Ukraine not to seek membership of Nato. Instead, Kyiv would receive “reliable security guarantees”, about which no details have been given.

The document says “it is expected” that Russia will not invade its neighbours and that Nato will not expand further.

The draft also suggests Russia will be “reintegrated into the global economy”, through the lifting of sanctions and by inviting Russia to rejoin the G7 group of the world’s most powerful countries – making it the G8 again.

Trump previously gave Ukraine until this coming Thursday to agree to the proposals, though later said the draft did not amount to a “final offer” after Ukraine’s allies voiced their concerns.

And Rubio told reporters on Sunday he was “very optimistic that we’re going to get there in a very reasonable period of time very soon”, whether it was Thursday, other days, or Monday the following week.

Before the talks began in Geneva, Rubio and the State Department insisted the widely-leaked plan had been authored by the US.

That came after a bipartisan group of US senators claimed the secretary of state had told them the draft was a Russian proposal and did not represent the Trump administration’s position.

Rubio rebutted that account and said it had been authored by the US with “input” from Moscow and Kyiv, while a State Department spokesperson described the senators’ account of their conversation with Rubio as “blatantly false”.