geneva
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America’s top diplomat struck a relentlessly upbeat tone in Geneva after a rollercoaster day of intensive negotiations aimed at persuading a skeptical Ukraine to accept America’s latest offer to end Russia’s brutal war.
“I feel very optimistic that we can get something done here, because we have made tremendous progress,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told me at a late-night press conference at the U.S. mission in the Swiss city.
Even President Donald Trump, who just hours earlier had again publicly scolded the Ukrainian leadership for not being grateful enough, is now “very satisfied with the report we gave him about how much progress has been made,” Rubio added.
But the secretary of state, who unexpectedly appeared in the briefing room alone rather than accompanied by Andriy Yermak, the powerful head of the Ukrainian delegation, as he had done earlier in the day, repeatedly refused to be spelled out specifically about what had been accomplished.
“This is an ongoing process, so I won’t go into the details of the topics we discussed,” Rubio told me, although other comments suggested that “the items that remain are not insurmountable.”
However, given the extent of significant compromises required of Ukraine in the public version of the US peace proposal, which is seen as largely favorable to Russia, any suggestion that it can be easily overcome rings hollow.
For example, a proposal to Ukraine to hand over major territory in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which Russia has annexed but not occupied, has long been a red line for Kiev, particularly because the region contains a “fortified zone” of heavily defended towns and cities deemed essential to Ukraine’s security.
The US proposal, seen by CNN, suggests the area would become a Russian demilitarized zone and the Kremlin would agree to keep it off-limits. But ordering Ukraine’s military to hand over the land where its troops fought and died will be difficult.
So are the proposed restrictions on Ukraine’s military. The U.S. plan calls for a maximum of just over 600,000 people, but European officials say they are concerned it could leave the country vulnerable to future attacks.
But Washington, which appears even more determined to force its way through the peace deal, has made clear it expects Ukraine to comply, threatening to withdraw U.S. military aid to Kiev and effectively abandon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to, in President Trump’s words, “fight out his little heart.”
In a statement from Washington on Sunday night, the White House said Ukraine believes the latest draft peace proposal “reflects national security interests,” after making various amendments and clarifications in Geneva with input from senior U.S., Ukrainian and European officials.
“The Ukrainian delegation confirmed that all of its key concerns, including security, long-term economic development, infrastructure protection, freedom of navigation, and political sovereignty, were thoroughly addressed during the talks,” the statement said.
And it’s not just the White House talking about the Geneva negotiations. Earlier, Ukrainian delegation head Yermak praised the meeting, calling it “very productive.”
Speaking alongside Rubio at an earlier news conference, Ermak added: “We are making very good progress and moving toward a just and lasting peace.”
Even some Europeans who had previously expressed concern about not being able to participate in the Geneva talks appear to be praising the outcome. German Foreign Minister Johann Vardepur said the talks were a “decisive success” for Europe.
“All European issues, including those related to NATO, have been removed from this plan,” Wadepfl told German radio station Deutschlandfunk.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubbe met with the Ukrainian president before commenting on X, and there were some words of warning, including the comment that “we have made a step forward in negotiations, but there are still big issues to be resolved.”
But even if the current draft U.S. peace proposal, which Mr. Rubio called a “living, breathing document” that can be changed, may actually work for the United States, Ukraine, and their European backers, it is very likely not to work for the Kremlin, which has consistently refused to back down from its extremist demands.
And the Russian government has so far faced limited pressure from the United States to do so.
In Geneva, Mr. Rubio repeatedly deflected my attempts to ask whether the United States expected significant concessions not only from Ukraine but also from Russia.
But if the White House is actually serious about achieving what it now calls “a lasting and comprehensive peace” in Ukraine, somehow convincing the Kremlin to compromise may be its best bet.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
