The Trump administration has insisted that the Ukraine proposal is official US policy, denying the accusations by a group of senators that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the 28-point peace plan was just a Russian “wish list”.
They added that the document was prepared with input from both Moscow and Kyiv. This comes after US President Donald Trump set a Thanksgiving deadline for his Ukrainian counterpart to accept his plan to end the war with Russia. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky warned that accepting the plan would risk Ukraine losing its dignity and freedom.
Defending the plan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The peace proposal was authored by the US. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the Department of State Tommy Pigott called the allegations “blatantly false”. He added, “As Secretary Rubio and the entire Administration has consistently maintained, this plan was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians.”
What did senators claim?
A group of senators, including Republican Mike Rounds, independent Angus King, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, said that Rubio told them the current Ukraine proposal is not the official US position, but lays out a “Russian wish list”.
“What he (Rubio) told us was that this was not the American proposal. This was a proposal that was received by someone… representing Russia in this proposal. It was given to Mr Witkoff,” Rounds said. “It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan.”
King added, “the leaked 28-point plan – which according to Secretary Rubio is not the administration’s position – it is essentially the wish list of the Russians that is now being presented to the Europeans and to the Ukrainians.”
The plan laid by the Trump administration demands Ukraine give up a swathe of eastern territory to Russia and cut the size of its army, AFP reported, citing a draft. Meanwhile, Kyiv has vowed that it would never join NATO or accept Western peacekeepers, although European warplanes would be positioned in Poland.