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In recent developments, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made efforts to dissociate the United States from a 28-point peace proposal intended to conclude the conflict in Ukraine under conditions favorable to Russia. This was confirmed by senators who spoke with him on Saturday.

Senator Mike Rounds, a Republican, relayed Rubio’s stance, emphasizing, “It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan.” Rubio shared these sentiments as he prepared for a trip to Geneva, where he would engage with senior European and Ukrainian officials on Sunday to discuss the plan.

According to Rubio, the Russians handed this peace plan to Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Special Envoy. The U.S., acting as an intermediary, subsequently passed it on to the Ukrainians. Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, described the plan as essentially a “wish list of the Russians.”

Furthermore, the senators reported that Rubio assured them there were no threats to withhold U.S. military aid or intelligence from Ukraine should they choose not to agree to the proposal.

The senators said that Rubio also told them that he was not aware that any threats had been made to withhold US weapons or intelligence to Ukraine in the event that they refused to sign the deal.

After the senators’ remarks were published, Rubio posted on X that: “The peace proposal was authored by the U.S.”

“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 on Saturday, Trump said that the proposal was not his final offer to Ukraine.

“No, not my final,” he said. Asked what would happen if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign the agreement he said, “he can continue to fight his little heart out”.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Witkoff and Rubio had been “working on a plan quietly” for around a month.

“The president supports this plan. It is a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides,” Leavitt said.

News of the plan, which was published in full by the Financial Times on Thursday, has sparked alarm among US lawmakers as well as officials in Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv could be strong-armed into accepting a deal that could end the war on terms highly favourable to Moscow.

The plan calls on Ukraine to surrender territory in Donetsk, which is currently under its control, and would limit the size of the country’s armed forces.

Ukrainian officials say they have faced intense pressure from the US to accept the deal before the US Thanksgiving holiday next Thursday, with the aim of presenting a peace deal in Moscow later this month and concluding the process by early December.

European leaders convened an emergency summit on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday, calling for “additional work” on the plan in a joint statement that was also signed by the leaders of Japan, Australia and Canada.

“We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the statement said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who spoke to Trump on Saturday, said in a statement that national security advisers from across Europe are set to meet in Geneva on Sunday to work on the document alongside US and Ukrainian officials.