Rewrite begins on US peace plan for Ukraine amid Republican revolt

It also came as some Republicans grew alarmed about the provenance of the initial US proposal, which was generally seen as harsh on Ukraine and light on concessions asked of Russia (which started the war).

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Multiple US senators, after being briefed by Rubio on the weekend, said the secretary had conveyed in their calls that the 28-point plan was not a proposal by the US government.

“He made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives. It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan,” Republican senator Mike Rounds said at a news conference on the sidelines of a security forum in Canada.

But hours later, Rubio flatly rejected that characterisation of the briefings. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he wrote on X, characterising it as a framework for ongoing talks.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott also sought to control the damage, calling the senators’ claims blatantly false. He said the document was written by the US with “input” from Russia and Ukraine.

A Russian ‘wish list’

Bloomberg News reported on Sunday (Monday AEDT) that the plan largely resulted from behind-the-scenes talks between Witkoff and his Russian counterpart, Kirill Dmitriev, including an October meeting in Miami that included Kushner.

According to Bloomberg, Rubio was not “fully looped in” until late in the process, while Trump “found out about it at the last minute, but he blessed it once he was briefed”.

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said the proposal looked like a Russian “wish list”. “It’s better for the United States not to make such incredible concessions to the Russians because I think ultimately it puts us at a disadvantage,” he told TV network NewsNation.

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Republican congressman from Nebraska Don Bacon, who sits on the House armed services committee, said the messy situation had hurt the US, undermined its alliances and encouraged its adversaries.

“Some people better get fired on Monday for the gross buffoonery we just witnessed over the last four days,” he said.

Todd Young, a Republican senator from Indiana, said he was pleased that Trump acknowledged the plan was not a final offer. “It’s time to tighten the thumbscrews on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, not throw in the towel against him,” he said.

But Trump instead tightened the screws on Zelensky. In a social media post, he reprised his previous complaints that Kyiv was ungrateful for US support and Europe was hindering peace efforts.

“UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA,” Trump wrote.

He claimed again that the war, which began in February 2022 when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, would not have happened if there had been “strong and proper” US and Ukrainian leadership at the time.

Meanwhile, European leaders pushed alternative proposals as their officials met US and Ukrainian counterparts in Geneva.

Like the US plan, the European proposal says Russia would rejoin the global economy and be restored to the group of major economies, which would again become the G8, but it differs dramatically in keeping sanctions in place until there is proof of long-term peace.

While the US seeks to cap the Ukrainian military at 600,000 personnel, the European plan suggests 800,000. Crucially, the European plan avoids any restriction on placing foreign troops on Ukrainian soil – a scenario ruled out in the draft US plan – and says it would be up to NATO members to decide if Ukraine could join the defence pact.

The European terms are in keeping with the long-term position put by leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Macron, when they convened the “coalition of the willing” among national leaders to consider a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he would be open to considering the options, but has made no commitment about sending Australian peacekeepers.