WASHINGTON DC – After a long, frantic day of compressed, round-the-clock negotiations in Geneva, the US and Ukraine jointly declared Sunday night that they had agreed on the contours of a new “peace framework”– one the White House says will “fully uphold” Ukraine’s sovereignty and could form the backbone of a future settlement to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion.
But if the statement projected momentum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s press gaggle at the US Mission suggested a more complicated reality: progress, yes – dramatic progress, even – but nowhere near the finish line. And, crucially, no longer on a Thanksgiving deadline.
Rubio hammered that point repeatedly – “we need more time” – a notable shift for an administration that had earlier treated Thursday as a soft ultimatum for moving the framework into a phase where Russia would be presented with a draft.
Hours after speaking with reporters, US officials confirmed to Kyiv Post that Rubio had departed Geneva and was en route back to Washington, effectively bringing this phase of the talks to a pause.
“Highly productive” breakthrough – with key details missing
The joint statement released by the White House on Sunday – brief, cautious, and clearly crafted to avoid spooking any party – said US and Ukrainian negotiators had achieved “highly productive” discussions and agreed that any eventual settlement must “fully respect Ukraine’s sovereignty” and produce a “just, lasting peace.”
Both sides, the statement said, have drafted an updated “peace framework” and will complete “intensive work on joint proposals in the coming days.”
The language was strikingly aligned with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s public red lines, which have grown more rigid as Ukraine heads into another winter of drone strikes and rolling blackouts.
On Telegram, Zelensky called the day’s outcome “signals President Trump’s team is hearing us” – a marked improvement from recent weeks, when Kyiv’s concern about US concessions had burst into the open.
“Most productive day” – but not done, not close
Rubio opened his press gaggle with the line his team had clearly settled on: “Today was probably the most productive day we have had in our entire ten months of working on these issues.”
But as reporters pressed him on specifics – remaining sticking points, red lines, potential concessions to either side – the top US diplomat repeatedly dodged, saying the issues were “delicate,” “evolving,” and, notably, not yet ready for public consumption.
His headline message: there will be no Thursday deadline.
“We’d love it to be Thursday,” Rubio said. “Whether it’s Thursday, Friday, Wednesday, Monday of the following week – we want it to be soon… but we need a little more time.”
That is a noticeable walk-back from earlier US rhetoric, which had held out the prospect of a breakthrough by Thanksgiving.
Several European officials in Geneva privately described the deadline as more political than diplomatic – a motivator for negotiators rather than a firm cutoff – but Rubio’s formulation made clear the White House is no longer pretending the calendar can force an outcome.
Rubio stressed that what remains open is “not insurmountable,” but he cited “semantics,” “language,” and “items that require higher-level decisions.”
More importantly, he acknowledged that even if the US and Ukraine finalize their side of the framework, the real battle lies ahead: getting Russia to agree.
“The Russians get a vote here,” he said flatly. “Whatever we come up with has to be taken to them. They have to agree for it to work.”
Given Vladimir Putin’s posture – escalating missile strikes, renewed mobilization rhetoric, and zero public appetite for compromise – it was the most sober sentence Rubio delivered all evening.
Kyiv’s calculus: Stay close to Washington
The Ukrainian delegation, for its part, arrived in Geneva determined to leave with two things: a document they could live with, and a strong signal that the Trump administration wasn’t drifting away from Kyiv.
Rubio’s team appears to have delivered enough on both counts.
The US readout says Ukraine’s “principal concerns” – security guarantees, long-term economic stability, energy reliability, non-aggression provisions, and sovereignty – were “thoroughly addressed.”
Ukrainian envoys, according to the Americans, said the updated draft “reflects their national interests” and provides “credible and enforceable mechanisms” to prevent a future Russian attack.
A senior European diplomat briefed on the meeting said it was “the first time in months” that Ukrainian officials sounded “genuinely relieved.”
European nervousness and the missing NATO chapter
Rubio confirmed that the US also met with national security advisers from several European governments. Those conversations were “positive,” he said, but he acknowledged that items involving NATO or EU equities have been hived off to a separate track.
Translation: Whatever Washington and Kyiv decide on bilateral security guarantees will require another layer of negotiation with Brussels and key member states – not least Poland, France, and Germany, all wary of being presented with a fait accompli.
Rubio’s insistence that he had seen “no counterplan” from Europe raised eyebrows among some diplomats present, who argued the White House simply isn’t ready to engage deeply on the alliance piece until the US-Ukraine draft is locked.
Living document – and a stumbling start
Veteran diplomat Daniel Fried, who has served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, captured the mood in Washington’s foreign policy circles: Given where things started, any improved draft is an improvement.
“Given the drama, confusion and stumbling on the US side, and the hot mess of the initial draft, today seems indeed a good day,” he wrote.
That line – “hot mess” – reflects what officials in half a dozen capitals have described: a chaotic early phase dominated by Trump-aligned envoys with unclear mandates, competing channels, and shifting political constraints in Washington.
The past 96 hours, however, brought a noticeable tightening of discipline. Rubio referenced “extensive engagement” in Kyiv by US officials, including the Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, to nail down Ukraine’s positions before arriving in Geneva.
Cautious optimism, no deadline
What happens next? Rubio was vague. He said the technical teams on both sides would continue working “full-time,” even as the principals disperse.
Additional drafts and counter-drafts will be exchanged over the next 24-48 hours. European governments will be looped in separately.
But the core reality remains: the US and Ukraine must finalize their proposal before it can be put in front of Moscow. And that phase will be harder — far harder — than anything that occurred in Geneva this weekend.
Rubio didn’t sugarcoat that point. Asked what happens when the Ukrainians and Americans turn the draft over to the Russians, he paused.
“That’s another part of this equation,” he said. “They have to agree to this in order for it to work.”
One Western diplomat briefed about Sunday talks described it to Kyiv Post: today’s progress is real, but it could prove fleeting the moment it touches the Kremlin.
Rubio’s departure – confirmed by US officials shortly after midnight Geneva time – underscores that the first phase of talks has concluded.
He will brief President Trump personally, and decisions will be made about when and how to resume high-level engagement.
Both the White House and the Ukrainian government are determined to signal unity, coherence, and forward momentum.
But the absence of a firm timeline – and Rubio’s clear message that forcing one isn’t possible – is the clearest tell of the moment.
As one European diplomat put it when describing the outcome of the Geneva talks to Kyiv Post: “Progress, yes. Breakthrough, maybe. But peace? Still a very long road ahead.”