US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Saturday that Washington authored the proposed twenty eight point US Peace Plan to end the war in Ukraine, rejecting claims from lawmakers that the draft had been shaped by Moscow. His comments came as he travelled to Geneva for talks with Ukrainian and European security officials on the proposal, which President Donald Trump has urged Kyiv to accept quickly.
The plan, which has not been published but has been widely leaked, has triggered concern among Ukraine’s allies in Europe. Several governments say key provisions would leave Ukraine exposed and cement Russian gains on the battlefield.
The controversy erupted after Republican Senator Mike Rounds told colleagues that Rubio had informed them the proposal did not reflect US policy. Speaking at the Halifax Security Forum, Rounds said senators were told the document resembled a Russian “wish list” and had been passed to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff by someone “representing Russia.” “It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan,” Rounds said.
The State Department strongly denied that account. “Blatantly false,” spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote on X, adding that the plan “was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians”.
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Rubio echoed that position, saying the draft was shaped by American officials but drew from “previous and ongoing input from Ukraine” and ideas conveyed by Russia through intermediaries.
According to leaked details reported by Reuters, BBC and AP, the plan would require Ukrainian troops to withdraw from parts of eastern Donetsk that Russia has failed to capture militarily. It would also accept de facto Russian control of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, and freeze front lines in southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Kyiv would receive unspecified security guarantees, while Russia would pledge not to attack its neighbours and NATO would halt further enlargement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the pressure to accept the proposal marks “one of the most difficult moments in our history”. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said the outline could form the “basis” for a future agreement.
Trump, who has made brokering a settlement a central foreign policy goal, said the text “will have to” be accepted by Kyiv, although he described it on Saturday as a “starting point” rather than a final offer.
Ukraine’s European supporters have already rejected core elements of the draft. In a joint statement at the G20 summit in South Africa, the leaders of Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Germany and Norway said the proposal “would leave Ukraine vulnerable to attack” and “requires additional work”.
They cited concerns about redrawn borders and limits on Ukraine’s armed forces. Two senior EU officials also signed the statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron said any long-term deal “cannot simply be an American proposal”, arguing it must guarantee “security for all Europeans”. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz added that negotiators remained “quite a long way from a good outcome for everyone”.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke separately with both Zelensky and Trump on Saturday, with No 10 saying he briefed the US president on European consultations.
Rubio and Witkoff will meet officials from Ukraine, the UK, France and Germany in Geneva on Sunday as discussions continue. On Saturday, Zelensky appointed his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, to lead Ukraine’s negotiating team for any future talks involving Russia. “Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests,” Zelensky said in a video message. He added that the delegation understands “exactly what must be done to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion”.
