Trump official insists US wrote peace plan amid claims it is Russian ‘wish list’

US politicians critical of Donald Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war have said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them the peace plan the president is pushing Kyiv to accept is a “wish list” of the Russians and not the actual proposal offering Washington’s position.

A State Department spokesperson denied their account, calling it “blatantly false”.

Mr Rubio himself then took the extraordinary step of suggesting online that the senators were mistaken, even though they said he was their source for the information. The secretary of state doubled down on the assertion that Washington was responsible for a proposal that had surprised many from the beginning for being so favourable to Moscow.

It all added up to a confusing – and potentially embarrassing – turn of events for a Trump administration-blessed peace plan that already faces a potentially rocky future.

The widely leaked 28-point US-backed peace plan is, according to the White House, the result of a month of work between Mr Rubio, Mr Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff, along with input from what it said was both Ukrainians and Russians.

The plan acquiesces to many Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory. Mr Trump says he wants Ukraine to accept the plan by late next week.

“This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form,” said Republican Mike Rounds, speaking at a security conference in Canada. “They want to utilise it as a starting point.”

He said “it looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with”.

The senators said they spoke to Mr Rubio after he contacted some of them while on his way to Geneva for talks on the plan. Senator Angus King said Mr Rubio told them the plan “was not the administration’s plan” but a “wish list of the Russians”.

The bipartisan group of senators, who are veteran legislators and among those most focused on foreign relations, stood together at the press conference as they relayed Mr Rubio’s message on the call.

Mr Rubio, who serves as both national security adviser and secretary of state, is attending a meeting in Geneva on Sunday to discuss Washington’s proposal as part of a US delegation.

He wrote on X: “The peace proposal was authored by the US. 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.”

A senior Trump administration official, who insisted on anonymity to detail internal discussions, noted the White House has consistently maintained the plan was authored by the US but included input from Russians and Ukrainians.

The official said the plan had always been considered by the administration as a helpful place to start continued negotiations with an eye towards working to a more lasting peace plan.

The senators have said the plan will reward Moscow for its aggression and send a message to other leaders who have threatened their neighbours.

“It rewards aggression. This is pure and simple. There’s no ethical, legal, moral, political justification for Russia claiming eastern Ukraine,” Mr King said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement” if the US can get Ukraine and its European allies to agree.

Mr Zelensky has not rejected the plan outright, but insisted on fair treatment while pledging to “work calmly” with Washington and other partners in what he called “truly one of the most difficult moments in our history”.

As the talks got under way in Geneva, the Ukrainian president said on Telegram: “A positive result is needed for all of us.

“Ukrainian and American teams, teams of our European partners, are in close contact, and I very much hope there will be a result.

“Bloodshed must be stopped and it must be guaranteed that the war will not be reignited.”