Following lengthy discussions in Geneva, Switzerland, with a Ukrainian delegation, Marco Rubio addressed reporters, stating that the US and Ukraine have made “tremendous amount of progress” on a peace plan to end the conflict with Russia. He emphasized the importance of Russian agreement for any deal to hold.
The 28-point plan, previously reported, includes de facto recognition of Russian control over Crimea and Donbass. It also calls for freezing the current lines of contact in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, while Russia would pull back troops from Ukrainian territories it holds outside these areas. Additionally, the plan reportedly suggests Ukraine to cap its military at about 600,000 troops and stay out of NATO.
Rubio, addressing the reporters after the talks, said that one of their goals was to “take … 28 points or 26 points, depending on which version… and try to narrow the ones that were open items.” He added that while “there’s still some work to be done,” the progress made is “tremendous.”
Some points involving the EU nations and NATO were placed on “a separate track… because it involves input from them.” At the same time, Rubio declined to name the remaining sticking points in the peace talks, calling the moment “very delicate.”
Asked about Moscow’s stance on the talks, Rubio noted that “obviously the Russians get a vote here… we now have to take what we come up with, if we can reach that agreement with the Ukrainian side, to the Russian side. They have to agree to this in order for it to work.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Moscow has received the US peace plan, adding that it has not yet been discussed in “detail.”
“I believe it could also form the basis of a final peace settlement,” Putin said. At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia was against discussing the roadmap through “megaphone diplomacy.”