US, Ukraine make progress on Trump’s peace plan, Rubio says – Axios

Axios, Updated 18 hours ago – World

U.S., Ukraine say they made “meaningful progress” on Trump’s peace plan

• By Barak Ravid, and Colin Demarest

The U.S. and Ukraine made “meaningful progress toward aligning positions” on President Trump’s proposed peace plan during their talks in Geneva on Sunday, the two countries said in a joint statement issued by the White House.

• “Final decisions under this framework will be made by the Presidents of Ukraine and the United States,” Sunday night’s joint statement read.

Why it matters: Diplomacy over the plan to end the war with Russia’s invading forces has accelerated since Axios revealed it Tuesday.Trump has set a Thanksgiving deadline for reaching an understanding with Ukraine.

• The joint statement said that “as a result of the discussions, the parties drafted an updated and refined peace framework.”

Catch up quick: Trump’s 28-point peace plan would force Kyiv to give up additional territory in the east, agree it will never join NATO and accept full amnesty for Russians accused of war crimes.

• On the other hand, the plan includes an unprecedented security guarantee from the U.S. and Europe modeled on NATO’s Article 5, which would commit allies to treat an attack on Ukraine as an attack on the entire “transatlantic community.”

Context: The White House issued a statement after Sunday’s talks concluded, saying: “Ukrainian representatives stated that, based on the revisions and clarifications presented today, they believe the current draft reflects their national interests and provides credible and enforceable mechanisms to safeguard Ukraine’s security in both the near and long term.”

• The White House added that the Ukrainian delegation “affirmed that all of their principal concerns — security guarantees, long-term economic development, infrastructure protection, freedom of navigation, and political sovereignty — were thoroughly addressed during the meeting.”
• Ukrainian officials underscored in the talks that the security guarantee the U.S. proposed together with other parts of the plan “addresses their core strategic requirements, according to the White House.
• “Both sides welcomed the steady progress made and agreed to continue consultations as the agreements move toward final refinement. The meeting concluded with a shared understanding that today marked a significant step forward, and that continued close coordination will be essential,” the White House said.

Driving the news: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushnermet Sunday with Ukraine’s delegation at the U.S. mission in Geneva, a U.S. official directly involved in the talks said.

• After hours of talks in Geneva, Rubio said negotiators had substantially narrowed the list of open issues in Trump’s proposal.

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