"Concentrated, focused and respectful" - this is how Ukraine and the United States describe the discussion held between delegations of the two countries in Geneva, after Washington presented a plan to end the war in Ukraine, first agreed with Moscow. At the same time, on the night after the talks in Geneva, Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine. According to authorities, at least four people were killed in a Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
A consensus that reflects Ukraine's interests?
According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the plan has been changed and will undergo further revisions before a consensus is reached. Rubio softened the American position after days ago US President Donald Trump set an ultimatum for Kiev to agree to the plan by this Thursday. In this regard, the Secretary of State said that it does not matter when exactly a decision will be reached, as long as it is soon. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed optimism and said that "there are signals that the American delegation is listening" to Kiev.
The White House also made another statement after the meeting in Switzerland - on the issue of guarantees for Ukraine's security. According to Washington, the Ukrainian delegation stated that the project reflects "its national interests". During the meeting, Kiev's main concerns were discussed, including security guarantees, the statement also states. Ukraine, however, has not commented on these statements by the White House.
Who wrote the original plan?
The initial version of the plan presented by the United States was criticized for satisfying all of Russia's demands, and for Ukraine it effectively represented a capitulation.
Cedric Layton, a retired colonel in the US Air Force, expresses cautious optimism that the US government's initial position may have been successfully changed. "It seems that the worst of those 28 points have already disappeared from the horizon." But it is still too early to say for sure whether this is really the case, Layton adds.
Who actually wrote the original plan - this was the question that occupied American politicians over the weekend. Not only was the document surprisingly biased in favor of the Kremlin, but several of the wordings sounded like direct and rather clumsy translations from Russian into English, German public broadcaster ARD reported.
On the sidelines of a security conference in Canada, several US senators said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had informed them by phone that the plan was not the work of American representatives. "Rubio told us that this was not an American proposal. This was a proposal received from someone who represents Russia. And it was passed on to [special envoy] Witkoff", announced Republican Senator Mike Rounds. And independent Senator Angus King said that according to Rubio, this was not the position of the administration, but "generally a wish list of the Russians". The State Department later publicly denied these claims and stated that the plan was American, with Russia and Ukraine contributing.
A struggle for supremacy in the spotlight?
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor spread another theory: according to him, the Russians prepared this plan and gave it to Steve Witkoff, while simultaneously releasing it to the media. Ukraine and its European allies received another draft of the plan from Washington. As reported by Reuters, a number of high-ranking officials in the State Department and the National Security Council learned about the plan from the media, including Trump's envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg.
What exactly is happening? It looks like chaos, ARD commented. Or a struggle for supremacy between Rubio, Witkoff and Vice President J.D. Vance over the right course towards Russia. Or perhaps the world is witnessing a combination of both, concludes ARD.