Washington and Kyiv Finalize Most Terms of Peace Plan

Ukrainian negotiators in Geneva secured key revisions to President Donald Trump’s peace plan while reaching broad agreement with Washington on most of the proposal’s provisions.

Ukraine adjusts major points of the US peace plan

According to Ukrainian media reports, Kyiv managed to coordinate positions with Washington on the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the control structure over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the format for prisoner exchanges, and the return of convicted individuals.

The delegations were unable to reach consensus on several parts of the American plan and therefore agreed to “set aside” those provisions for direct discussion between the presidents.

Trump and Zelensky expected to discuss unresolved issues directly

Some points of the US peace initiative are expected to be handled personally by Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump. A meeting between the two leaders may occur this week or next, although no final date was set in Geneva. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a phone conversation between the two presidents was also possible.

These unresolved matters concern territorial issues and a proposed constitutional commitment preventing Ukraine from joining NATO. As noted by the outlet Strana.ua via Telegram, the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas — a requirement of Trump’s plan — became “one of the most contentious points.”

US proposal for Donbas revealed

The United States, in its draft peace plan, proposed designating part of the Donetsk People’s Republic as a “neutral demilitarized buffer zone under Russian control.” Kyiv would be required to recognize Crimea, and the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as Russian territories.

Washington also reportedly suggested freezing the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions while calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv regions.

US and Ukraine call the Geneva talks productive

The meeting between the American and Ukrainian delegations took place on November 23. The US side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The Ukrainian delegation was led by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov.

The White House described the talks as productive, noting that the discussion was frank, detailed, and conducted in a spirit of partnership. Rubio added that additional time may be required to finalize the new peace plan.

"Our goal is to end this war as soon as possible, but we need a little more time," Marco Rubio said.

Rubio emphasized that significant progress had been made, calling the meeting the most productive in the entire series of negotiations on resolving the conflict.

For Kyiv, Rustem Umerov expressed appreciation for Washington’s constructive approach and its willingness to consider Ukraine’s amendments.

"The current version of the document, though still in its final stage of coordination, already reflects most of Ukraine’s key priorities," Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.