Washington scrambles to clarify Ukraine peace plan after senators allege Rubio called it a ‘Russian wish list’

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. — Reuters pic

WASHINGTON, Nov 23 — Washington insisted Saturday that its Ukraine proposal is indeed official US policy, denying claims by a group of senators that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them the document under discussion is just a Russian “wish list.”

The dispute over the 28-point plan – which cedes Ukrainian territory long sought by Moscow – threw an extraordinary element of confusion into efforts to negotiate an end to the war.

US President Donald Trump has pushed the plan, pressuring the Ukrainians to accept it within days. Negotiators will meet in Switzerland on Sunday.

However, after a storm of criticism that the proposal is almost entirely favourable to Moscow, several US senators spoke out, holding a press conference at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada on Saturday.

The senators – Republican Mike Rounds, independent Angus King, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen – said Rubio told them the current Ukraine proposal is not the official US position, but instead lays out a “Russian wish list.”

“What he (Rubio) told us was that this was not the American proposal. This was a proposal that was received by someone... representing Russia in this proposal. It was given to Mr Witkoff,” Rounds said, referring to Trump’s diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff.

“It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan.”

King corroborated those comments, saying “the leaked 28-point plan – which according to Secretary Rubio is not the administration’s position – it is essentially the wish list of the Russians that is now being presented to the Europeans and to the Ukrainians.”

‘Blatantly false’

Rubio took to X to refute the senators’ claims via social media.

“The peace proposal was authored by the US,” Rubio wrote late Saturday. “It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”

Earlier, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott also denied the claims, sharing a post on X citing King’s comments.

“This is blatantly false,” Pigott posted. “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.”

But Shaheen said she and Rounds spoke to Rubio on a shared call while the top US diplomat was en route to Geneva for the latest round of negotiations with Ukrainian officials.

Rounds said he and his colleagues had asked for a conversation with Rubio over their concerns with the plan.

In the call, Rubio was “very frank about it,” he said.

“It doesn’t look like normally something that would come out of our government, particularly the way it was written. It looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with,” Rounds said.

King noted that the plan should not reward Moscow for its invasion.

“Everyone wants this war to end but we want it to end on a fair and just peace that respects the integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine and does not reward aggression and also provides adequate security guarantees,” he said. — AFP