By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) -Top officials from the United States, Ukraine, and national security advisers from France, Britain and Germany hold talks in Geneva on Sunday to discuss Washington’s draft plan to end the war in Ukraine.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were due to arrive on Sunday for the talks on ending Russia’s invasion, now in its fourth year.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had until Thursday to approve the 28-point plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.
“We hope to iron out the final details…to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine),” a U.S. official said. “Nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together”, referring to Trump and Zelenskiy.
U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived in Geneva ahead of the talks, and a Ukrainian delegation was expected Saturday evening, the official said. Ukraine confirmed its participation.
National security advisers from the so-called E3 alliance of France, Britain and Germany will join the discussions, alongside the European Union. Italy would also send an official, diplomatic sources said.
European and other Western leaders said on Saturday the U.S. peace plan, which endorses key Russian demands, was a basis for talks to end the war but needed “additional work”, as they seek a better deal for Kyiv before Thursday’s deadline.
A German government source said a European draft peace plan, which is based on the U.S. proposal, had been sent to Ukraine and to the U.S. administration.
Before the talks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Ukraine risked losing its dignity and freedom – or Washington’s backing – over the plan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the plan as the basis of a resolution to the conflict, but Moscow may object to some proposals in the scheme, which requires its forces to pull back from some areas they have captured.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; additional reporting by Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Julia Payne in Johannesburg and Anastasiia Malenko in Kyiv; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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