Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday urged negotiators meeting in Geneva to reach an agreement to end the conflict with Russia, emphasizing the need for strong guarantees to prevent another invasion.
The president, speaking from Kyiv, expressed his hope that delegations from Ukraine, the United States, and major European countries would make concrete progress on the 28-point peace plan presented by Washington. “The bloodshed must end, and we must ensure that war never reignites,” the head of state stated on social media.
He added that he hopes"all participants will be constructive" and stressed: "We all need a positive outcome."
The peace plan proposed by the United States, presented last Thursday in Kyiv, has generated controversy both in Ukraine and among its European partners. Among the most debated points are Ukraine's handover of the Donbas region, including the Donetsk sector still under Ukrainian control, international recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, the reduction of the Ukrainian army from 900,000 to 600,000 troops, and Kyiv's commitment never to seek NATO membership. In exchange, the document offers security guarantees considered ambiguous by Kyiv and several European Union countries, who recall that similar promises in the past did not prevent Russian invasions after Ukraine relinquished its nuclear arsenal.
The Ukrainian delegation in Geneva is headed by Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, and chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, accompanied by other senior officials. The United States delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll. Prior to the main meeting, the Ukrainian delegation held meetings with security advisors from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, including Jonathan Powell, Emmanuel Bonne, and Günter Sautter, respectively.
The United States has defended the authorship and approach of the peace plan. The State Department rejected accusations that the document represents a Kremlin “wish list.” Spokesman Tommy Pigott called such claims “blatantly false,” while Rubio insisted that the proposal was drafted by Washington with input from both Russian and Ukrainian representatives. “It offers a solid framework for the ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But also on previous and current input from Ukraine,” Rubio stated.
The US plan has raised concerns among European partners, who fear that some of its provisions could weaken Ukraine's position and undermine continental security. This mistrust is fueled by the precedent of broken promises following Kyiv's nuclear withdrawal. Foreign policy and security advisors from Germany, the UK, and France have been in Geneva to express their reservations and seek a common approach.
In Washington, President Donald Trump clarified that the 28-point proposal does not constitute his administration's"final offer," although he set November 27 as the deadline for kyiv to respond.
“We would like to achieve peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The war between Russia and Ukraine should not have happened. If I had been president, it never would have happened. We are trying to end it. One way or another, we have to end it,” Trump told reporters on Saturday.
For his part, Vice President JD Vance stressed on social media that any agreement must stop the killings, preserve Ukrainian sovereignty, and be acceptable to both sides. “Any peace plan between Ukraine and Russia must: 1) Stop the killings and preserve Ukrainian sovereignty. 2) Be acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine. 3) Maximize the chances that the war will not resume,” Vance wrote, according to Reuters.
International support for Ukraine has been bolstered by a joint statement from the heads of government of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden, who reiterated their commitment to maintaining military and political support for Kyiv, according to Reuters. The Nordic and Baltic leaders stressed the need to respect Ukrainian sovereignty and announced their readiness to support further economic sanctions against Moscow as long as Russian military operations continue.
