(MENAFN) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that a leaked peace proposal regarding Ukraine was written by the United States, pushing back on claims that he had privately characterized it as a Russian “wish list.”

The clarification came after several lawmakers at the Halifax International Security Forum said Rubio called them while en route to Geneva for discussions with Ukrainian officials. According to Sen. Mike Rounds, Rubio told them the US was merely the recipient of a plan submitted to one of its representatives.

“It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan,” Rounds said at a news conference. “It is a proposal that was received, and as an intermediary, we arranged to share it — we did not release it. It was leaked.”

Rubio later contradicted that account in a post on X, insisting:
“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, as well as previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”

State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott also rejected the lawmakers’ version of events, calling it “blatantly false.” He said the Trump administration has repeatedly emphasized that the plan was drafted by the US, with contributions from both Moscow and Kyiv.

The leaked 28-point draft, first revealed by Axios, reportedly calls for Ukraine to give up more territory to Russia, scale down its military, and drop its bid for NATO membership.

President Donald Trump has given Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to respond to the proposal.

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