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RUBIO LANDS IN GENEVA FOR TALKS ON UKRAINE PLAN

Room remains for negotiation on draft

November 24, 2025 00:00:00


A local resident with an umbrella walks across the pedestrian bridge in Kyiv on Sunday -- AFP

GENEVA, Nov 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Geneva Sunday morning for discussions on a US plan to end the Ukraine war, after Washington signalled room for negotiation on the controversial proposal.

Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, but Kyiv is seeking changes to a draft that accepts some of Russia's hardline demands.

Rubio, whose reported comments about the plan have thrown an extraordinary element of confusion into efforts to negotiate an end to the war, landed shortly before 9:30 am (0830 GMT), according to AFP journalists on site.

Ukrainian, European and Canadian officials were also gathering in the Swiss city, although the format for the talks remained unclear.

The US plan to end the Ukraine war has drawn pushback from Kyiv, its allies and US lawmakers ahead of Sunday talks.

The 28-point plan would require the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO. Trump told reporters Saturday it was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting "one way or the other".

Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, speaking on Fox News, described the plan as "a work in progress".

Ukraine's European allies, who were not included in drafting the proposal, said the plan requires "additional work" as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to strengthen Kyiv's position.

'Major flaws' in US plan to end

war in Ukraine: Norway PM

There are "major flaws" in the US plan under discussion Sunday to end the war in Ukraine, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told AFP in South Africa.

A draft of the plan, which echoes several of Russia's hardline demands, has drawn pushback from Kyiv and its European allies who are seeking some changes.

"We need US engagement to help end the war in Ukraine and stop the Russian aggression. That is positive," Store said on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

"But the plan is insufficient and it has major flaws that need to be worked on. One of them is to get Europe at the table and, not least, get Ukraine at the table," he said.


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