The United States and Ukraine have drafted a new 19-point peace agreement, but have left the most sensitive political elements to be decided by the presidents, the Financial Times reported yesterday, citing a statement by Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kislyak.
Ukraine, according to informed sources, has significantly modified the original American "peace plan", removing some of Russia's maximalist demands, while European leaders warned yesterday that an agreement cannot be reached quickly.
Washington had previously pressured Kiev to accept a 28-point proposal, developed by US and Russian officials, which crossed several long-standing Ukrainian "red lines".
Kislya, who was in the room as part of the Ukrainian delegation during the talks in Geneva on Sunday, told the FT that there had been “intensive” but “productive” efforts, resulting in a thoroughly revised draft document that left both sides feeling “positive”.
US President Donald Trump also hinted at new progress.
"Is it really possible that great progress is being made in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don't believe it until you see it, but maybe something good is happening after all," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
After hours of arduous talks that almost fell apart before they even began, the American and Ukrainian teams reached agreements on several issues, but they “bracketed” the most contentious points - including territorial issues and relations between NATO, Russia and the United States - to be decided by Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainians said they “had no mandate” to make decisions about the territory – particularly the cession of land, as the original draft plan suggested – which, under their country’s constitution, would require a national referendum.
The new draft, Kislica said, bears little resemblance to the earlier leaked version of the peace proposal that caused a stir in Kiev. "Very little remains from the original version," he said.
“We have developed a solid framework of consensus and a few things we can compromise on,” he said. “The rest will require decisions at the leadership level.”
Zelensky, as reported by the British "Guardian", could meet with Donald Trump at the White House later this week, while Ukraine insists that Europe be included in the negotiations. However, some of the Ukrainian president's associates have advised him to stay in Kiev, so as not to risk a new clash with Trump that could jeopardize the progress made over the weekend, writes the FT.
The talks on Sunday were chaired on the Ukrainian side by Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, while Kislya, as well as a group of military officers and intelligence officials, provided support.
The American delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, Trump's special envoy for Russia Steve Witkoff, as well as the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose presence initially surprised Ukrainian officials.
Kislica said the Americans were attentive, eager to hear Ukrainian views and open to suggestions. “Almost everything we suggested was taken into account,” he said.
Although the talks ended on a positive note, it was questionable whether they would even begin, said Kislica, who described the atmosphere in Geneva on Sunday morning as "very tense."
The Americans arrived frustrated by leaks to the media in the days leading up to the meeting and by the public debate over the origins of the first draft of the proposal.
It took nearly two hours of talks between Yermak and Rubio to calm the situation. “We were finally able to start real talks,” Kislyak said. A long session with the Americans in the morning allowed the Ukrainians to air their concerns and demands. This was followed by a short break and a detailed review of the proposed peace plan, he said.
Kislyak said that the US side has shown readiness to remove the proposal to impose a limit of 600.000 Ukrainian military personnel. He said that US negotiators have listened carefully to Ukraine's arguments and agreed to take them into account.
“They agreed that the number of Ukrainian military personnel from the leaked version (of the draft peace plan) is no longer on the table,” he said. “The military will continue to discuss the modalities.”
After Sunday's talks, there was no announcement on how the revised plan would address contentious issues, such as how to guarantee Ukraine's security from future Russian threats or how to finance the country's reconstruction. Zelensky said negotiations were ongoing.
It remains unclear whether Trump will want Zelensky to sign the document. The US president has said his Ukrainian counterpart should support the draft plan by Thanksgiving on Thursday.
Washington must now decide how and when to present the draft peace agreement to Russia. The Kremlin said on Monday that it had not yet seen or been informed of the US-Ukrainian draft.
"Now it's up to the Russians to show whether they are truly interested in peace or whether they will find a thousand reasons not to get involved," Kislica said.
Some EU leaders met yesterday to discuss Ukraine on the sidelines of the EU-African Union summit in Luanda, while others joined via video conference. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump had expressed his readiness to accept a peace plan developed through joint efforts.
“And that is exactly what was achieved yesterday in Geneva by representatives of Ukraine, the US and EU member states,” Merz said in Luanda, describing the outcome of the talks as “a provisional result.” “But we also know: peace in Ukraine will not come overnight.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said more work was needed. “Everyone is absolutely focused on what we need to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that any agreement must not weaken Ukraine or Europe. "This is a sensitive issue because no one wants to discourage the Americans and President Trump from the United States remaining on our side in this process."
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