US-Ukraine Agree Peace Agreement Must Uphold Kyiv Sovereignty

Andriy Yermak with Marco Rubio. (Twitter/@AndriyYermak)

JAKARTA - The United States and Ukraine said on Sunday that any agreement to be reached to stop the war with Russia must fully uphold Kyiv's sovereignty, after "constructive" negotiations between US, Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva, Switzerland.

Senior US and Ukrainian officials held talks in Geneva Sunday to discuss a new proposal to end the war. The US delegation was led by Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian delegation was led by Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak.

After a day-long meeting that began based on US proposals criticized for benefiting Russia, negotiators have designed a "renewable and refined range of peace work," the US-Ukraine joint statement said.

"These negotiations are constructive, focused, and respectful, underlining a shared commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace," the joint statement said.

"They reiterated that every agreement in the future must fully uphold Ukraine's sovereignty and produce sustainable and just peace," he joked, noting "mean progress."

US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve his plans to end the nearly four-year conflict, which began after Russia launched a massive invasion.

However, Kyiv wants changes to the draft that accepts Russia's various hardline demands, with a 28-point plan requiring the country invasion to give up territory, reduce the number of troops, and promise never to join NATO.

Both sides pledged to continue working on the joint proposal "in the coming days."

The White House said in a separate statement the negotiations marked "a significant step forward."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boasted of "extraordinary" progress after a day of gathering, while Ukraine's chief delegation, Andriy Yermak, also said both sides had made "very good progress."

Foreign Minister Rubio told reporters efforts to narrow the area of the dispute had advanced "in a very substantial way."

"I can tell you that things that are still open are not impossible," he said, adding, "I really believe we will get there."

He further stressed that every final deal "must be approved by the presidents, and there are several issues we need to continue to work on" before trying to involve the Kremlin, which welcomes the initial proposal.

"Obviously, Russia has the right to vote," he said.

The Ukrainian delegation has referred to a new version of the US plan draft, which has not yet been published, saying the draft "already reflects most of Ukraine's top priorities."

Foreign Minister Rubio said he thought President Donald Trump was "sufficiently pleased with the reports we gave him about the amount of progress he had made."

Asked if a deal could be reached on Thursday, as requested by the US President, he said "the deadline is for us to finish this as soon as possible."

"I think we've made tremendous progress. I'm very optimistic we'll achieve that goal in a very reasonable period of time, soon," said Foreign Minister Rubio.