The United States and Ukraine make progress in peace talks in Geneva

BarcelonaWashington and Kyiv are moving closer to a more equitable position. the plan designed by Donald Trump for an agreement with Russia. In a joint statement, they asserted that as a result of the talks held by both sides this Sunday in Geneva, they have worked on "an updated and refined peace framework," reaffirming that "any future agreement must fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty." Trump has issued an ultimatum: Ukraine must renounce its entry into NATO if it does not want to lose US military support.

The text published by the White House states that the talks were "constructive, focused, and respectful," as well as "productive," since they "showed significant progress in harmonizing positions and clearly identifying next steps." The text emphasizes that, as representatives of both countries have already stated, the final approval of the new roadmap for peace in Ukraine will depend on the presidents of both nations, who will continue "working intensively on joint proposals in the coming days," in addition to remaining "in close contact with their European partners as the process moves forward."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a positive assessment of the Geneva meetings and said, in more cautious language than the joint statement, that changes had been made to the peace plan in accordance with the Ukrainian position. For his part, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated at the end of the Geneva talks that there were still points to be reviewed in the plan with Ukraine, but that "none are insurmountable" and that he was confident an agreement would be reached. While the meeting was taking place in Switzerland, the Russian army continued its attacks: on Sunday, it left four dead and 17 wounded in the city of Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country.

Modifications to the initial text

US President Donald Trump sought to increase pressure on the Kyiv government this Sunday with another of his inflammatory messages on social media. "The leadership of Ukraine has shown no gratitude for our efforts and Europe continues to buy oil from Russia," he said in a message in all caps on his social media account. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Geneva to participate in the talks, which were also attended by representatives from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom—members of the E3 alliance. Rubio himself described the meeting shortly afterward as "the best meeting" he had held with Ukraine so far and asserted that they had "made significant progress" in reviewing Trump's 28-point plan, point by point. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, also explained on his Telegram account that modifications to the initial text presented by the United States had been requested during the meeting. "The current version of the document, although in the final stages of coordination, already reflects most of Ukraine's key priorities," he said. Rubio explained that the negotiating teams will meet again to work on some of the suggestions put forward by Ukraine. "We are making some changes and adjustments in the hope of moving forward and narrowing the differences to get closer to something that both Ukraine and, obviously, the United States are very comfortable with," he added. Both the Ukrainian envoy and Zelensky himself publicly thanked the United States for its support following Trump's criticism of social media. "The United States' leadership is important. We are grateful for everything the United States and President Trump are doing for security, and we continue to work in the most constructive way possible," Zelensky told X on Sunday. European countries also arrived at the Geneva meeting with a revised version of the Ukraine peace plan, stating that "negotiations on territorial exchanges will begin from the contact line," referring to the current front line, according to the text seen by Reuters. The European-modified document also raises the US-set limit of 600,000 troops for the Ukrainian army in peacetime to 800,000. This plan appears to have been written by Moscow.

The meeting in Switzerland came the day after a The first meeting of European leaders took place on Saturday in Johannesburg, where they were attending the G-20 summit.There, they said that the plan proposed by Trump is a good basis for talks, but "needs further work." However, Polish President Donald Tusk has cast doubt on the 28-point plan presented by Trump to end the war in Ukraine, after Marco Rubio apparently admitted that the text was originally drafted by Moscow. "It would be good to know for sure who the author of the plan is and where it was created," Tusk told X. Speculation based on the language of the document suggests that the initial version was in Russian and was translated into English. According to the British newspaper The GuardianThe document was drafted by Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's envoy. However, the Polish president has assured that European leaders, along with Canada and Japan, are prepared to work on this plan despite having "some reservations."

In addition to representatives from the United States, Ukraine, and the E3 alliance, an Italian foreign policy advisor also participated in the meeting, and according to PoliticalRepresentatives of the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, were present. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would speak with Zelensky this Sunday about the peace plan. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said the Ukrainian president had until next Thursday to approve the 28-point plan, which demands that Ukraine cede territory, accept limits on its military, and renounce its ambitions to join NATO. But judged before Marco Rubio left for Geneva, Trump said this plan was not his final offer, something that seemed to ease the pressure somewhat. "Nothing will be agreed until both presidents meet," US sources had told Reuters, referring to Trump and Zelensky. But hours later, Trump's new message on social media accusing Ukraine of showing "no gratitude" seemed to return the ultimatum to square one. All this while Russia has made advances on the war front, such as capturing the city of Kupiansk, a railway hub in the Kharkiv region. In the last week alone, Russia has attacked Ukraine with more than 1,050 suicide drones, nearly 1,000 guided bombs, and more than 60 missiles.