Washington has forcefully denied claims that its proposed Ukraine peace plan represented a Russian “wish list,” despite three US senators strongly asserting Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them exactly that. This extraordinary dispute over the 28-point proposal immediately confused international efforts to negotiate an end to the devastating war.
US President Donald Trump has pushed the plan, pressuring Ukrainians to accept it within days, as negotiators will meet in Switzerland on Sunday, with Trump saying it was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting “one way or the other.”
Following widespread criticism that the framework heavily favors Moscow, senators spoke out at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Specifically, Republican Mike Rounds, independent Angus King, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen all confirmed Rubio’s private acknowledgment of the plan’s origins.
Senator Rounds directly quoted Rubio, asserting the document was “not the American proposal” but one received from Russia and presented to diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff. Furthermore, King corroborated this view, stating the leaked plan “is essentially the wish list of the Russians that is now being presented to the Europeans and to the Ukrainians.”
The Controversial Terms
Ultimately, the controversial 28-point proposal demands Kyiv must permanently cede territory, drastically cut its military size, and pledge never to join the NATO alliance. However, Secretary Rubio pushed back forcefully against this characterization, asserting that “the US authored” the proposal and merely incorporated “input from the Russian side” alongside contributions from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, other prominent Republicans, including veteran Senator Mitch McConnell, sharply criticized the plan, unequivocally stating that “rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America’s interests.”
Additionally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently vowed to keep Kyiv’s territory intact since the 2022 Russian invasion began. Negotiators will meet in Switzerland on Sunday, where Zelensky plans to propose “alternatives” to Trump’s challenging framework.
