Key Points
- Trump frustrated over the war’s “human catastrophe”
- Criticizes former US President Biden for giving free weapons to Ukraine
- Trump has given Ukraine a deadline of November 27 to accept his peace plan
- Plan drafted without input from Ukraine or European allies
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Sunday said Ukraine has no gratitude for Washington’s support against Russia’, as top US and Ukrainian representatives met in Geneva for talks on a proposal to stop the war.
“UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, while also re-airing frustration at the war’s “HUMAN CATASTROPHE” and attacking his predecessor Joe Biden, but offering no direct condemnation of Moscow.
Trump’s remarks against Ukraine and US allies underscored his growing frustration over the conflict. During his campaign last year, Trump insisted he could secure a peace agreement within 24 hours.
Yet his intermittent diplomatic efforts have yielded little progress, and he now faces sharp criticism from within his own party over a new 28-point proposal under discussion in Geneva.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump also criticised European nations for continuing to purchase Russian oil, and he referred to President Biden as “crooked Joe” for providing weapons to Ukraine “free, free, free.”
President Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve his peace plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, but Kyiv is seeking changes to the draft.
Before the Ukrainian delegation met with the Americans Sunday afternoon, President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed that “diplomacy has been reinvigorated”, voicing hope “the conversation can be constructive”.
“The bloodshed must be stopped,” he said on X, insisting: “We all need a positive outcome”.
In Geneva, Ukraine’s top negotiator Andriy Yermak said his delegation had met with high-level officials from Britain, France and Germany before heading into the meeting with Rubio.
The 28-point plan would require Ukraine to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.
At the G20 summit in Johannesburg, the leaders of key European countries as well as Canada and Japan said in a declaration that the US plan needed “additional work” and risked leaving Ukraine “vulnerable to future attack”.
The US plan was drafted without input from Ukraine or its European allies, leaving them scrambling to come up with a counter-offer to strengthen Kyiv’s position.
“Ukraine must have the freedom and sovereign right to choose its own destiny. They have chosen a European destiny,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, stressing that the “centrality” of the European Union’s role must be “fully reflected” in any peace plan.
“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 leaders of key European countries, Canada and Japan said in a joint statement.
The Kremlin has welcomed the Trump plan, but there were no plans Russian officials to join Sunday’s talks, according to the US official.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has meanwhile said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.
