Washington and Kiev report progress in the negotiations on the peace plan for Ukraine, the British newspaper "Financial Times" wrote in the headline.
American and Ukrainian officials reported progress in efforts to end the war in Ukraine after the talks in Geneva, but did not provide details on how some deep disagreements between Moscow and Kiev would be resolved.
In a statement to journalists after a day of talks with Ukrainian and European officials, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "a huge" progress, calling it one of the most productive days of the negotiations so far.
"I feel very optimistic that we will achieve our goal in a reasonably short period of time," he said.
Rubio also said that the negotiations would continue to resolve a number of outstanding issues. "I don't want to declare victory or a final result. There is still work to be done," he said.
The US Secretary of State also declined to comment on whether a breakthrough had been achieved on some of the most contentious issues in the 28-point plan, including the requirement that Ukraine hand over territories in Donbass that are under Kiev's control to Russia.
The final text of the agreement will have to be approved by the presidents of Ukraine and the US before being sent to Moscow, Rubio said yesterday.
A joint statement by the US and Ukraine described the negotiations as "constructive, focused and respectful".
"The discussions showed significant progress in harmonizing positions and defining clear next steps. They confirmed that any future agreement must fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty and ensure a sustainable and just peace," the statement said.
The White House has been pressuring Ukraine and its allies to force them to reach an agreement with Moscow, which has raised concerns in European countries that the proposed plan reflects Russia's demands, the Financial Times reported.
The US and Ukraine promise an "updated" framework for peace after criticism of pro-Russian clauses in the original peace plan, headlines another British publication - the "Guardian".
Washington and Kiev announced an “updated and improved framework for peace" to end the war in Ukraine, hours after European countries proposed their own radical alternative, which omitted some of the pro-Russian clauses contained in the original document, supported by the US, which was leaked to the media last week.
The latter envisaged Ukraine handing over territory to Russia and limiting the size of its army, the "Guardian" notes.
After the talks began yesterday in Geneva, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine had shown “no gratitude" for US efforts to end the conflict. In a conciliatory tone, Zelensky said he was personally grateful to the US president for the military assistance provided by Washington.
Ukraine's European allies published their own plan yesterday, favorable to Kiev. It says that negotiations on territories should take place after reaching a ceasefire agreement and start from the line of contact - the existing front line.
It says that the two sides will agree on how to monitor the ceasefire "under US supervision". Unlike the White House text, the European alternative plan does not call for Kiev to withdraw from the cities it controls in Donbas. It also does not rule out Ukraine's membership in NATO, but notes that there is no consensus on this issue.
There are other proposals that are attractive to Kiev. They include Russia handing over the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which would distribute the energy produced equally between Moscow and Kiev. Ukraine's army will be limited to 800,000 soldiers in peacetime, 200,000 more than in the US project.
In Geneva, Marco Rubio tried to reassure Kiev and its European allies about US intentions, the French newspaper "Monde" wrote in a headline.
On the shores of Lake Geneva, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met successively with Ukrainian and European negotiators, in the company of US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll. The meeting had one goal that is still far from being achieved: to calm the shock caused in Kiev and in European countries by the latest proposals of the Trump administration, prepared behind the backs of its European allies but in close cooperation with representatives of the Kremlin, the French publication points out.
Republican senators who support a hard line on Russia reject Trump's ultimatum to Ukraine, the publication "Politico" headlines.
Some of the most influential anti-Russia hawks in the Senate are outraged by the peace plan with which President Donald Trump hopes to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
The plan, which envisages Ukraine ceding Crimea, Donbas and parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, imposing restrictions on Kiev's military forces and permanently blocking the path to NATO membership, has angered Senators Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and Roger Wicker, who have urged the White House to refrain from actions they say would be harmful to the region, Politico reports.
But the White House believes now is the best time to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to make peace, as the Ukrainian leader faces a corruption scandal in his own country. The Trump administration has given him until Thanksgiving, which falls on Thursday, to agree to the proposal.
Despite the pressure campaign, Trump himself hinted on Saturday that his letter to Ukraine last week was not final.
"We're trying to get this over with. "One way or another, we have to get this done," Trump told reporters outside the White House when asked if the proposal sent to Zelensky was final.
"But he can keep fighting to the last man standing," Trump added of Zelensky.