GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected in Geneva on Sunday for talks with Ukraine and its European allies on the latest U.S.-proposed peace plan for the war-torn country.
Ukraine’s Western allies have rallied around Kyiv in a push to revise the plan, which is seen as favoring Moscow despite its all-out invasion of its neighbor.
The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, and will be bolstered by representatives from France, Germany and the U.K. Apart from Rubio, others in the U.S. delegation are expected to include Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the U.S. to end the nearly four-year war has sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals, with Zelenskyy saying his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.
The plan acquiesces to many Russian demands that Zelenskyy has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory. The Ukrainian leader has vowed that his people“will always defend” their home.
Speaking before Sunday’s talks, Alice Rufo, France’s minister delegate at the Defense Ministry, told broadcaster France Info that key points of discussion would include the plan’s restrictions on the Ukrainian army, which she described as “a limitation on its sovereignty.”
“Ukraine must be able to defend itself,” she said. “Russia wants war and waged war many times in fact over the past years.”
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump said the U.S. proposal was not his “final offer.”
“I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,” Trump said. “One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”
Trump didn’t explain what he meant by the plan not being his final offer and the White House didn’t respond to a request for clarification.
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Associated Press writers Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
