Several U.S. senators said Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration’s plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which Kiev is pressuring Kiev to accept, is Russia’s “wish list” and not an actual plan.
A State Department spokesperson rejected their accounts as “blatant falsehoods.”
The 28-point peace plan was developed by the Trump administration and the Kremlin without Ukraine’s involvement. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has acquiesced to many of Russia’s demands, which he has rejected dozens of times, including giving up vast tracts of territory. President Trump said he hoped Ukraine would accept the plan by late next week.
At a security conference in Canada, Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said they spoke with Rubio after he contacted some members on his way to Geneva to discuss the plan.
King said Rubio told him the plan was not “the administration’s plan” but “a wish list for the Russians.”
“This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form,” Lowndes said. “They want to use that as a starting point.”
“It looked like it was written in Russian from the beginning,” Lowndes said.
Rubio, who serves as both the president’s national security adviser and secretary of state, will attend Sunday’s meeting in Geneva as part of the U.S. delegation and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter with U.S. participants, the people said.
State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott denied the senators’ claims.
“As Secretary Rubio and the entire administration have consistently maintained, this plan was developed by the United States with input from both Russia and Ukraine,” Piggott wrote in X.
Senators said early Saturday that the plan would only reward Russia’s aggression and send a message to other leaders who have threatened neighboring countries.
The senators’ opposition to the plan follows criticism from other U.S. lawmakers, including some Republicans, but no one has the power to block it.
“We reward aggression, pure and simple. Russia’s claim to eastern Ukraine is ethically, legally, morally and politically unjustifiable,” King said during a panel discussion at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the proposal late Friday, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement” if the United States could get agreement from Ukraine and its European allies.
In his speech, President Zelenskiy did not reject the plan outright, but insisted on fair treatment, pledging to “calmly work together” with Washington and other partners during what he called “truly one of the most difficult periods in the history of our country.”
Now in its 17th year, the Halifax International Security Forum, held at Halifax’s Westin Hotel, draws approximately 300 people each year. The forum brings together military personnel, U.S. senators, diplomats and academics, but the Trump administration earlier this year suspended the participation of U.S. defense officials at the think tank’s events, including the one in Halifax.
Due to the strained relationship between Canada and the United States, a number of U.S. senators visited this year. President Trump has alienated America’s neighbor in a trade war and has argued that Canada should become America’s 51st state. Many Canadians are now refusing to travel to the United States, and border states like Shaheen have seen a dramatic drop in tourism.
“I have real concerns about that tension. That’s one of the reasons why we have such a large delegation here,” the New Hampshire Democrat said. “I will continue to oppose the President’s actions regarding tariffs and his comments because I believe they are not only harmful to Canada and our relationship, but also harmful globally. They show a lack of respect for sovereign nations.”
Gillies writes for The Associated Press.
