Overview
- At Halifax, Sens. Mike Rounds and Angus King said Marco Rubio told them the 28-point document was a Russian proposal rather than U.S. policy.
- The State Department called that account "blatantly false," and Rubio later said the framework was authored by the United States with input from Russia and Ukraine.
- Rounds followed with a more conciliatory statement about Rubio’s briefing, underscoring confusion over what was conveyed to lawmakers.
- Reuters reported that many senior State and NSC officials were not briefed on the draft, raising concerns about backchannel work involving envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian financier Kirill Dmitriev.
- The leaked terms would bar NATO membership, reduce Ukraine’s armed forces, and accept de facto Russian control over Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, as U.S., Ukrainian, and European envoys meet in Geneva and Kyiv weighs a reported Nov. 27 response deadline.