Meanwhile, Europe is said to be open to welcoming Russia back into the G8
VOLODYMYR Zelensky has thanked Donald Trump for his proposed peace deal – after the US president blasted Kyiv for showing “zero gratitude”.
It comes after Washington confirmed it was making changes to Trump’s blueprint in response to European leaders dubbing it a “surrender plan”.
In another desperate bid to get the Don back on his side, Zel said Ukraine was “grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the assistance”.
The war hero noted that Trump had been “saving Ukrainian lives” through all of his military and diplomatic assistance.
He wrote on X: “It is important not to forget the main goal – to stop Russia’s war and prevent it from ever igniting again.
“And to achieve that, peace must be dignified.”
Zelensky also praised European allies and the G20 who are pushing efforts to negotiate a better deal for Ukraine.
It comes after European leaders unveiled a counter proposal to Trump’s plan following crunch talks in Geneva on Sunday.
Trump slammed both Ukraine and America’s European allies just minutes after Zelensky hinted the US proposal could still protect Kyiv’s core security interests.
Trump said: “I inherited a war that should have never happened, a war that is a loser for everyone, especially the millions of people that have so needlessly died.
“Ukraine ‘leadership’ has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts, and Europe continues to buy oil from Russia.
“The USA continues to sell massive amounts of weapons to NATO, for distribution to Ukraine.”
Politicians from across the divide in the US have criticized Trump for putting his name to a plan which seems to capitulate to Putin.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon warned this could tarnish Trump’s “legacy”, and said: “In the war between Ukraine and Russia, the first to surrender was America.”
Meanwhile, representatives from Ukraine, Europe and the US all gathered in Geneva today in an effort find a shared path forward from the controversial 28-point proposal.
Things kicked off with a meeting between Ukraine’s top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, and national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany.
The European allies produced a counter-proposal with adjusted terms – for example, leaving the door open to Ukraine to possibly join Nato – before Kyiv and Washington diplomats sat down together.
Marco Rubio and Yermak briefly emerged to announce Washington would make some “changes” to the terms after the “most productive and meaningful meeting so far in this entire process”.
Rubio said: “Our teams are have now gone to their rooms as we’re working on some of the suggestions that were proffered to us, so we’re working through, making some changes in the hopes of furthering narrowing the differences and getting closer to something that both Ukraine and obviously the United States are very comfortable with.”
He stressed that anything agreed in principal in Geneva would still need Trump and Zelensky’s sign off, and Russia would be given the chance to give its opinion.
Both men went straight back into the room without taking questions as Rubio said: “There is still some work left to do.”
We’ve also learned that Trump and Starmer spoke on the phone today as their representatives gathered in Geneva, with Downing Street reporting they “agreed that we all must work together”.
The talks come after Trump abruptly rowed back on his threat that Zelensky “will have to” accept the deal by Thursday.
The shift cracks open a sliver of negotiating space as Washington, Kyiv and Europe scramble to rewrite a proposal widely seen as a capitulation to Vladimir Putin.
Convoys of US diplomatic vehicles swept through Geneva early Sunday, carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to the talks.
Ukraine’s delegation is led by Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, while Britain’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell joins counterparts from France, Germany, the EU and Italy.
Their aim is to salvage, reshape or stall the 28-point US plan before Trump and Zelensky face their Thursday deadline.
Yermak said the opening session set a “very constructive mood” and that Kyiv and its partners “continue working together to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine”.
Rubio, Driscoll and Witkoff are due to join the next round.
Zelensky said he is awaiting the results from Geneva, warning that “a positive result is needed for all of us”.
In a message to Ukrainians, he said: “Bloodshed must be stopped and it must be guaranteed that the war will not be reignited.”
A US official previously insisted negotiators hope “to iron out the final details… to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine)”, adding that “nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together”.
But European officials say privately that the plan needs much more than tweaks.
The proposal was drawn up by Russian sovereign wealth chief Kirill Dmitriev and Witkoff after discreet talks in Miami.
It would force Ukraine to cede occupied eastern territory, restrict its military to 600,000 troops and abandon its ambitions to join Nato.
The plan also freezes front lines in the south and offers Russia a path back into the G7, with sanctions lifted and Russian energy reopened to Western markets.
European leaders warn it leaves Ukraine exposed to Mad Vlad’s demands and war powers.
A G7 statement on Saturday said the draft “would leave Ukraine vulnerable to attack” and “requires additional work”.
Sir Keir Starmer said it was “fundamental that Ukraine has to be able to defend itself if there’s a ceasefire”.
Trump, sensing the blowback, abruptly shifted tone late Saturday.
The US president said the plan “does not represent a ‘final offer’”, in a clear retreat from earlier warnings that Zelensky had “no choice” but to accept it.
Rubio, meanwhile, finds himself under pressure after senators accused him of privately calling the plan a “Russian wish list”.
He now insists it was “authored by the US” and is “a strong framework for ongoing negotiations”, albeit “based on input from the Russian side” and on “previous and ongoing input from Ukraine”.
Zelensky has warned the entire process places Ukraine in “one of the most difficult moments in our history”, forced to choose between “lose our dignity or risk losing a key partner”.
He stressed that while diplomacy proceeds, Ukraine “must do everything to strengthen our defense”.
The war-torn country, Zelensky said, is reeling after yet another week of brutal Russian strikes using more than “1,050 strike drones, almost 1,000 guided bombs and more than 60 missiles”.
Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/15536007/ukraine-crisis-talks-geneva-peace-plan-trump/