\u201cThe next meeting is with the U.S. delegation. We are in a very constructive mood,\u201d Yermak said. \u201cWe continue working together to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rubio<\/a> was expected to join the talks together with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff.<\/p>\n Before the meeting, Trump on Sunday used a lengthy online post to blast Ukraine for a lack of gratitude for U.S. military assistance, while notably shying away from criticizing Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cWith strong and proper U.S. and Ukrainian LEADERSHIP,\u201d Trump wrote, Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine \u201cwould have NEVER HAPPENED.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also took a swipe at U.S. allies in Europe, writing, \u201cUKRAINE \u2018LEADERSHIP\u2019 HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA.\u201d<\/p>\n After Trump\u2019s post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was \u201cgrateful\u201d for U.S.-led efforts on security and praised U.S. leader directly as talks continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThe leadership of the United States is important, we are grateful for everything that America and President Trump are doing for security, and we remain as constructive as possible,\u201d Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In an earlier post, Zelenskyy also said that there was an understanding the U.S. would take into account \u201ca number of elements\u201d in a peace deal that are important for Ukraine, but did not elaborate further. <\/p>\n \u201cThere have already been brief reports from the team about the results of the first meetings and conversations,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is now an understanding that the American proposals may take into account a number of elements based on the Ukrainian vision and are critically important for Ukraine\u2019s national interests.\u201d<\/p>\n Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine\u2019s National Security and Defense Council and a member of Ukraine\u2019s Geneva delegation, wrote that although the peace plan proposals were still be finalized, they included \u201cmany Ukrainian priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate our American partners working closely with us to understand our concerns to reach this critical point and we expect to make more progress today,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Ukraine and allies have ruled out territorial concessions <\/p>\n The 28-point blueprint<\/a> drawn up by the U.S. to end the nearly four-year war has sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals. Zelenskyy has said his country could face a stark choice<\/a> between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.<\/p>\n The proposal,<\/a> originating from negotiations between Washington and Moscow, acquiesces to many Russian demands that Zelenskyy has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian leader has vowed that his people\u201cwill always defend\u201d their home.<\/p>\n Speaking before Sunday\u2019s talks, Alice Rufo, France\u2019s minister delegate at the Defense Ministry, told broadcaster France Info that key points of discussion would include the plan\u2019s restrictions on the Ukrainian army, which she described as \u201ca limitation on its sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUkraine must be able to defend itself,\u201d she said. \u201cRussia wants war and waged war many times in fact over the past years.\u201d <\/p>\n Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump said the U.S. proposal was not his \u201cfinal offer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,\u201d Trump said. \u201cOne way or the other, we have to get it ended.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump didn\u2019t explain what he meant by the plan not being his final offer and the White House didn\u2019t respond to a request for clarification.<\/p>\n Rubio\u2019s reported comments cause confusion <\/p>\n Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday that Warsaw was ready to work on the plan with the leaders of Europe, Canada and Japan, but also said that it \u201cwould be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created.\u201d <\/p>\n Some U.S. lawmakers said Saturday that Rubio had described the plan as a Russian \u201cwish list\u201d rather than a Washington-led proposal.<\/p>\n The bipartisan group of senators told a news conference that they had spoken to Rubio about the peace plan after he reached out to some of them while on his way to Geneva. Independent Maine Sen. Angus King said Rubio told them the plan \u201cwas not the administration\u2019s plan\u201d but a \u201cwish list of the Russians.\u201d<\/p>\n A State Department spokesperson denied their account, calling it \u201cblatantly false.\u201d <\/p>\n Rubio himself then took the extraordinary step of suggesting online that the senators were mistaken, even though they said he was their source for the information. The secretary of state doubled down on the assertion that Washington was responsible for a proposal that had surprised many from the beginning for being so favorable to Moscow.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said the peace plan appeared to be \u201calmost a series of Russian talking points,\u201d had made Europeans \u201cfeel like they\u2019ve been totally left high and dry\u201d and had led to \u201cferocious pushback.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Mark Warner told ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week\u201d that he thought Trump was \u201cseeing this one-sided plan kind of blow up in his face.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is he\u2019ll come back and be a bit more reasonable,\u201d Warner said. <\/p>\n Possibility for additional talks<\/p>\n Meanwhile. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. He said he would talk to the Russian leader about reviving a previous deal from July 2022<\/a> that allowed Ukraine to safely ship exports of grain via the Black Sea.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n