Rubio Tells Lawmakers Leaked Ukraine 'Peace Plan' Is Not U.S. Policy as Diplomats Rush to Respond

Sen. Marco Rubio told a bipartisan congressional delegation at the Halifax forum that a leaked Ukraine peace proposal does not reflect U.S. policy and was a document the U.S. received, not an American-authored plan. Lawmakers said Rubio denied knowledge of any threat to cut intelligence or military aid if Ukraine rejected the terms, though he later posted that the proposal reflected U.S. authorship with input from Russia and Ukraine. The leak ignited a diplomatic scramble as European capitals prepare counterproposals and officials head to Geneva for talks.

04:54 AM, 11/23/2025Conflict

Rubio Tells Lawmakers Leaked Ukraine 'Peace Plan' Is Not U.S. Policy as Diplomats Rush to Respond

U.S. lawmakers at the Halifax International Security Forum said Saturday they sought clarification after a leaked proposal for a Ukraine peace plan created international confusion. Sen. Marco Rubio told the bipartisan delegation the document does not represent the Trump administration’s position and described it as a proposal the U.S. had received rather than authored.

According to members of the delegation, Rubio phoned them while en route to Geneva for discussions with Ukrainian advisers. He said the proposal was presented to U.S. representatives as an external proposal and that the United States had acted as an intermediary — and that the document’s public circulation resulted from a leak.

“It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan. 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,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).

Rounds also reported that Rubio told the delegation he was unaware of any plan by the president to cut off intelligence sharing or military assistance should Ukraine reject the terms. “He told me … he was not aware of that threat being made,” Rounds said, noting that the purpose of sharing the paper was to allow Ukraine to respond to items that were already public.

Still, Rubio later posted on X that the proposal had U.S. authorship. In that post he described the paper as a potential negotiating framework that incorporated input from both the Russian side and from Ukraine.

Rubio on X: “The peace proposal was authored by the U.S. 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.”

The leak prompted urgent diplomatic activity across Europe and in Kyiv as capitals sought to determine whether Washington supported terms perceived as favorable to Moscow. European governments have mobilized envoys and are preparing counterproposals ahead of talks in Geneva, where U.S. officials planned meetings with Ukrainian advisers followed by discussions involving Russian representatives.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who was also at the forum, warned that the draft contained provisions unacceptable to Ukraine and its allies, including curbs on NATO enlargement and limits on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces.

“There is so much in that plan that is totally unacceptable,” Shaheen said, emphasizing that any credible negotiation must produce terms both sides can live with.

The lawmakers said they requested Rubio’s call after growing alarm over the document and criticism from other world leaders. Rubio agreed to brief them and allowed them to describe his remarks publicly.

Contributor: Daniella Cheslow