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Top officials from the US, Ukraine and European nations are meeting in Switzerland today to discuss President Trump’s draft plan to end the war with Russia.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are due to arrive in Geneva for the talks.
National security advisors from France, Germany and Britain will also be present.
On Thursday, President Trump said Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has until Thursday to approve his 28-point plan, which demands that Ukraine cede territory to Russia, accept limits on the size of its military and renounce its ambition to join NATO.
“We hope to iron out the final details… to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine),” a U.S. official said.
“Nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together,” the official continued, referring to Trump and Zelenskiy.
On Saturday, European and other Western leaders said Trump’s plan was a basis for talks to end the war but still needs “additional work.”
Ahead of the talks, Zelensky said his country risked losing its dignity and freedom or the backing of Washington if it accepted the plan.
In recent weeks, President Trump has expressed growing frustration at his inability to break the deadlock and secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
At the end of October, as he headed to Malaysia for a week-long Asia tour, the President said he would not meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, until a peace deal is reached.
“I’m going to have to know that we’re going to make a deal,” Trump said while speaking to journalists on Air Force One as he made his way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a week-long Asia tour.
“I’m not going to be wasting my time. I’ve always had a very great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing.”
President Trump cancelled a peace summit in Budapest with Putin, in a clear sign of his frustration at the lack of progress towards peace.
“I thought this would have gone long before peace in the Middle East,” Trump said.
“We have Azerbaijan and Armenia—that was very tough. In fact, Putin told me on the phone, he said, ‘Boy, that was amazing,’ because everybody tried to get that done and they couldn’t. I got it done. You had others. If you look at India and Pakistan. I could say almost any one of the deals that I’ve already done I thought would have been more difficult than Russia and Ukraine, but it didn’t work out that way. There’s a lot of hatred between the two, between [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and Putin.”
After cancelling the summit, President Trump announced fresh sanctions on Russia, targeting its two largest oil-exporting companies, as a result of “Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
During his recent meeting with Chinese premier Xi Jinping, President Trump also discussed China’s purchases of Russian oil. Trump has attempted to put pressure on Moscow by persuading significant consumers of Russian energy like China and India to dial back their purchases.
