Three U.S. senators said Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio privately described President Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace proposal as a Russian “wish list,” insisting it does not represent the administration’s actual plan.
Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota shared their account while speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada.
A State Department spokesperson sharply rejected their characterization, calling it “blatantly false,” according to the Associated Press.
Why It Matters
The dispute comes as the Trump administration is reportedly pressing Ukraine to accept the basic framework of the deal within days, with warnings that crucial military and intelligence assistance could be scaled back if Kyiv refuses, Reuters has reported.
Trump’s 28-point peace proposal was developed by the administration in coordination with the Kremlin but without direct Ukrainian participation. The draft document is seen as conceding several major Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected, including surrendering significant territory in eastern Ukraine and agreeing to caps on Ukraine’s military.
With Trump pushing to have Ukraine sign onto core terms by next Thursday, conflicting accounts of what Rubio told senators risk further complicating already fraught negotiations at a moment when Ukraine’s position on the battlefield is under mounting pressure.
What To Know
According to the senators, Rubio contacted some of them while en route to Geneva for talks on the peace plan. King said Rubio portrayed the document as “not the administration’s plan” but rather a “wish list of the Russians.” Rounds added that “it looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with,” and claimed the administration “was not responsible for this release in its current form” but wanted to “utilize it as a starting point.”
Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, directly disputed that account. “As Secretary Rubio and the entire Administration has consistently maintained, this plan was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians,” Pigott wrote on X.
Under the proposed peace framework, Moscow would gain control over parts of eastern Ukraine, including the Donbas region, in exchange for security guarantees for Kyiv and Europe. The draft also envisions commitments on NATO nonexpansion and economic incentives for Russia, such as restoring fuller access to global markets. Critics, including Ukrainian officials and advocacy groups, have condemned the proposal as a form of “capitulation.”
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on November 20 to discuss possible steps toward a peace agreement, a meeting later acknowledged by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Reuters, citing sources familiar with the talks, reported that Washington is pushing an “aggressive timeline” for signing a document between the United States and Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the proposal late Friday, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement” if Washington can persuade Ukraine and its European partners to accept it. Zelenskyy stopped short of rejecting the plan outright but emphasized the need for fair terms and pledged to “work calmly” with Washington during what he called “truly one of the most difficult moments in our history.”
What People Are Saying
Sen. Angus King said during a panel discussion at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada:
“It rewards aggression. This is pure and simple. There’s no ethical, legal, moral, political justification for Russia claiming eastern Ukraine.”
Sen. Mike Rounds told the Associated Press:
“This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form. They want to utilize it as a starting point.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday:
“It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides and we’re working very hard to get it done.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X Friday:
“We are working to ensure that Ukraine’s national interests are taken into account at every level of our relations with partners. Right now, there are meetings, calls, and work on the points practically every hour—provisions that can change a lot. It is important that the outcome be a dignified peace.”
What Happens Next
Rubio is expected to participate in a meeting in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the proposal as part of a U.S. delegation, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the American participants before the meeting and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
