GENEVA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials met in Geneva on Sunday to discuss a draft U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine, after Kyiv and its allies voiced alarm over what they saw as major concessions to Russia and pressed for changes.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has championed the 28-point plan, said on Sunday that Ukraine had not been grateful for American efforts over the war, prompting Ukrainian officials to stress their gratitude to the U.S. president for his support.
European officials joined the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations for talks late on Sunday after crafting a modified version of the U.S. plan for Ukraine that pushes back on proposed limits to Kyiv's armed forces and mooted territorial concessions.
The European plan proposes that Ukraine be granted a larger military than under the U.S. plan and that talks on land swaps should start from the front line rather than a pre-determined view of which areas should be considered Russian.
On Friday, Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had until Thursday to approve the plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.
For many Ukrainians, including soldiers fighting on the front lines, such terms would amount to capitulation after nearly four years of fighting in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. On Saturday, Trump said the current proposal for ending the war is not his final offer.
ORIGIN OF U.S. PLAN STIRS CONTROVERSY
With the U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the main talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials got under way in Geneva on Sunday afternoon in a stiff atmosphere at the U.S. mission, soon after Trump complained in a Truth Social post that Ukraine's leadership had shown "zero gratitude" to the U.S. for its efforts and Europe continued to buy Russian oil.
Rubio interrupted the meeting to speak to reporters, saying the talks had probably been the best the U.S. had held with Ukraine since Trump returned to power.
He said changes would be made to the plan to work towards a solution that both Ukraine and the U.S. could support.
"Obviously, this will ultimately have to be signed off on with our presidents, although I feel very comfortable about that happening given the progress we've made," said Rubio, who arrived in Geneva with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian delegation, was at pains to thank Trump for his commitment to Kyiv during the brief remarks, before he and Rubio returned to their talks. Minutes later, Zelenskiy himself offered thanks to Trump.
Since the U.S. plan was announced, there has been confusion about who was involved in drawing it up. European allies said they had not been consulted.
As officials began meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the goal was to craft a plan acceptable to Ukraine that could be used in a negotiation with Russia.
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