Washington, DC [US], November 23 : The US State Department strongly rejected claims by two senators that President Donald Trump's 28-point peace plan for Ukraine was effectively drafted by Russia and did not reflect the administration's official position, the Hill reported.
The controversy began remarks by Republican Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Angus King of Maine.
Both lawmakers said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them that the plan had not been authored by the United States but had been "received" from an intermediary and amounted to "the wish list of the Russians," the Hill reported on Saturday.
Rubio denied that interpretation in a post on X, saying, "The peace proposal was authored by the US. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations ... It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine."
Earlier, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the suggestion that the administration was not behind the plan "is blatantly false."
"As Secretary Rubio and the entire Administration has consistently maintained, this plan was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians," Pigott wrote on X.
The proposal has drawn criticism from several Republican leaders, including Senators Mitch McConnell and Roger Wicker, who argue that it would effectively reward Putin nearly four years after the Russian invasion.
The plan suggests that Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk would be placed under de facto Russian control, recognised by the US , a position Ukraine is unlikely to accept. It also asks for no significant concessions from Russia beyond allocating 100 billion dollars of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine's reconstruction, the Hill reported.
Vice President JD Vance, however, defended the proposal, saying that critics were misrepresenting it. "Peace won't be made by failed diplomats or politicians living in a fantasy land," Vance wrote on X.
"Every criticism of the peace framework the administration is working on either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground."
Earlier, in a televised national address, the Ukrainian president cautioned that the country was entering a critical phase. "Ukraine could now face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner. Either the difficult 28 points, or an extremely difficult winter," he said.
At the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he believed a realistic path to peace had been identified, but stressed that the proposal can only move forward if Zelenskyy signs off on it. "We think we have a way of getting peace, he's going to have to approve it. I think they're getting reasonably close, but I don't want to predict," Trump said, according to CNN.
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