Russian ‘Wish List’: Lawmakers Say Marco Rubio Told Them Leaked 28 Point Peace Plan for Ukraine Is Not Trump’s Deal
(photo credit: Evan Vucci for AP)
Several U.S. Senators on Saturday said Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) told them the widely reported 28-point peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war is not President Donald Trump’s idea, but rather a “wish list” from the Russians that was leaked to the press.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-ND), according to PBS NewsHour reporter Nick Schifrin, said Rubio called him and other lawmakers to make it “very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives. It is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”
Rounds continued:
“It is a proposal that was received. And as an intermediary, we have made arrangements to share it. And we did not release it. It was leaked. It was not released by our members or our representatives… This is an opportunity to receive it and that it has been utilized and delivered to the Ukrainians, and that they will have an opportunity to respond. And in doing so, you now have one side being presented and the opportunity for the other side to respond.”
Sen. Angus King (I-ME), Schifrin also reported, said the plan is not the “administration’s position — it is essentially the wish list of the Russians.”
The senators made their comments while attending the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada.
Rubio, at 9:01 p.m. ET on Saturday, pushed back on what the senators said in a post on X.
He said the “peace proposal was authored by the U.S.” and was “based on input from the Russian side,” as well as “previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
Their comments come after Axios reported on November 18 the Trump Administration “has been secretly working in consultation with Russia to draft a new plan to end the war in Ukraine,” according to U.S. and Russian officials, the report said.
The Washington Post, on Friday, reported the peace plan would require Ukraine to massively reduce the size of its army and the cede swaths of territory to Russia, including in Donetsk. Zelensky, based on what he told his nation in a Friday address, is not overly enthused about the deal.
President Trump, when talking to reporters on Saturday morning, did not push back on reports he was urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept the peace deal by Thanksgiving.
He said Zelensky, if he does not accept the deal, can “fight his little heart out.” When asked by reporters if was his “final offer,” the president said, “No, we’d like to get to peace.”
