US-Ukraine statement comes hours after European countries propose their own alternative peace

The US and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war with Russia, hours after European countries proposed their own radical alternative that omitted some of the pro-Russia points made in an original US-backed document that was leaked last week.

US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, emerged from a meeting in Switzerland late on Sunday with a Ukrainian delegation led by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, saying he was “very optimistic” about the progress of the talks. A joint statement between the two countries said that any eventual deal would “fully uphold” Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The original 28-point US document leaked last week demands Ukraine hand over territory to Russia, limits the size of its army and agrees not to pursue the Kremlin for alleged war crimes.