Rubio suggests possible extension of deadline for signing Ukraine peace plan

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this, according to Bloomberg, Ukrinform reports.

“It is probably the most productive day we have had on this issue, maybe in the entirety of our engagement, but certainly in a very long time. But work remains, and because this continues to be a working process, I don’t want to declare victory or finality here,” Rubio told reporters after negotiations between the U.S. and Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Geneva.

According to the joint statement, both sides have prepared an “an updated and refined peace framework” and “agreed to continue intensive work on joint proposals in the coming days.” Neither Rubio nor the White House provided specific details about progress made during the talks.

Although Trump stated last week that he wanted an agreement reached by Thursday, Rubio outlined a more flexible timeline that could allow for additional negotiations.

“You know, whether it’s Thursday, whether it’s Friday, whether it’s Wednesday, whether it’s Monday of the following week, we want it to be soon,” he said.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, U.S. officials are pressuring Ukraine to accept the 28-point proposal for ending Russia’s war as a basis for negotiations and to publish a statement reflecting this position. The U.S. also asked Ukraine to confirm that it had contributed to the proposals after it became clear that Moscow had submitted its input into the plan, one of the sources said.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations, also said that the U.S. currently opposes a joint meeting of Ukrainian and European representatives to discuss the peace plan. Ukraine and its European allies have prepared a counterproposal rejecting several provisions of the plan, including those requiring the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from five Ukrainian regions, Bloomberg reported.

As Ukrinform earlier reported, U.S. media revealed that the Trump administration had held secret consultations with Russia to draft a new plan for ending the war in Ukraine. According to Axios, the plan consists of 28 points grouped into four broad categories: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine.

According to media reports, Kyiv is expected to give up Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donbas, reduce its Armed Forces, and relinquish a substantial part of its weaponry. The plan also envisions the transfer of the remaining parts of Donbas in exchange for U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe, though the mechanism for these guarantees is not clearly defined.

U.S. lawmakers said that during a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he characterized the U.S. peace plan as a “wishlist” of the Russians, rather than an actual proposal from Washington. Rubio denied this, stressing that “the peace proposal was developed by the United States.”

Following Sunday’s talks between Ukraine and the United States — in which the U.S. delegation was led by Rubio and included Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and Special Envoy Stephen Witkoff — Rubio said that Donald Trump’s peace plan is based on proposals from both Russia and Ukraine and is viewed as a foundation for negotiations.

Photo: Andrii Yermak / Telegram