Biden leads tributes to Colin Powell: ‘He could drive his Corvette Stingray like nobody’s business’
US President Joe Biden has paid tribute to former US secretary of state Colin Powell following his death, saying he “could drive his Corvette Stingray like nobody’s business”.
The 84-year-old died following complications from COVID-19, his family said in a statement today.
Figures from across the political spectrum have paid their tributes to the first black US secretary of state and top military officer following the news.
US President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill were “deeply saddened” by the passing of their “dear friend and a patriot of unmatched honour and dignity”.
Former US president Barack Obama talks with reporters after a meeting with Colin Powell and Joe Biden in 2010
“Colin embodied the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat. He was committed to our nation’s strength and security above all,” Mr Biden said.
“Having fought in wars, he understood better than anyone that military might alone was not enough to maintain our peace and prosperity.”
He added that Mr Powell had repeatedly “broken racial barriers” and was “committed to investing in the next generation of leadership”, but above all, “Colin was my friend. Easy to share a laugh with. A trusted confidant in good and hard times.”
The US leader continued: “He could drive his Corvette Stingray like nobody’s business – something I learned firsthand on the race track when I was vice president.
Colin Powell and wife Alma with former President Bill Clinton in 2017
“And I am forever grateful for his support of my candidacy for president and for our shared battle for the soul of the nation. I will miss being able to call on his wisdom in the future.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “Powell’s career in the US military is legendary… By the
time he retired from the military he was arguably the most respected and celebrated American in uniform.”
John Major, who was the UK prime minister from 1990 to 1997, said he was “proud” to call Mr Powell a friend.
“Colin Powell was one of the finest men I ever met. And, perhaps, one of the finest Americans never to be president,” he said.
Former UK prime minister John Major (R) said he was ‘proud’ to call Colin Powell a friend
“Both in the military and in government he led with calm authority, and was an inspiration to all those who served alongside him.
“During the first Gulf War – as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff – we could not have wished for a stronger ally, nor one who commanded such affection and respect from our own armed forces. Throughout his long and exceptional career, Colin served with honour and distinction. He was a true public servant, who I was proud to call a friend.”
Mr Powell served under George H W Bush through the Iraq War and had also overseen the US invasion of Panama in 1989.
Then US president George W Bush with Colin Powell in 2006, after he had finished his term as secretary of state
He was then appointed secretary of state under Mr Bush’s son, George W Bush, who embarked on the Iraq War in 2003.
In a statement, George W Bush said he and his wife Laura are “deeply saddened” by Mr Powell’s death.
“He was a great public servant, starting with his time as a soldier during Vietnam. Many presidents relied on General Powell’s counsel and experience.
“He was national security adviser under President Reagan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under my father and President Clinton, and secretary of state during my administration.”
Mr Bush added: “He was such a favourite of presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom – twice. He was highly respected at home and abroad. And most important, Colin was a family man and a friend. Laura and I send Alma and their children our sincere condolences as they remember the life of a great man.”
Tony Blair, who was UK prime minister during the Iraq War, described Mr Powell as a “towering figure in American military and political leadership over many years”.
“He was wonderful to work with, he inspired loyalty and respect and was one of those leaders who always treated those under them with kindness and concern,” Mr Blair said.
Former PM Tony Blair greeting Colin Powell outside 10 Downing Street
“His life stands as a testament not only to dedicated public service but also a strong belief in willingness to work across partisan division in the interests of his country. I am so sorry to hear the news of his death.”
Prominent figures in the African-American community also paid tribute to him.
Lloyd Austin, who is the first African American to become US defence secretary, said: “The world lost one of the greatest leaders that we have ever witnessed.
“Alma lost a great husband, and the family lost a tremendous father and I lost a tremendous personal friend and mentor. He has been my mentor for a number of years. He always made time for me and I could always go to him with tough issues. He always had great counsel.
“First African American chairman of the joint chiefs, first African American secretary of state – a man who was respected around the globe… quite frankly, it is not possible to replace a Colin Powell. We will miss him.”
Colin Powell speaking in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2008
Rev Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, said on Twitter: “My condolences to the family of Colin Powell. Though we disagreed on many issues, I always respected him and was proud of his achievements. When he and I ran into each other and conversed, I always left feeling he was a sincere and committed man to what he believed in. RIP”.
The US secretary of state has hailed a “tremendous amount of progress” on peace talks after the US and Ukraine delegations met in Geneva – but said that negotiators would “need more time”.
Marco Rubio said the meetings in Switzerland on Sunday have been “the most productive and meaningful” of the peace process so far.
He said the US was making “some changes” to the peace plan, seemingly based on Ukrainian suggestions, “in the hopes of further narrowing the differences and getting closer to something that both Ukraine and obviously the United States are very comfortable with”.
Mr Rubio struck an optimistic tone talking to the media after discussions but was light on the details, saying there was still work to be done.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Geneva after peace talks with Ukraine. Pic: Reuters
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Analysis: Rubio strikes an optimistic tone – but is light on detail
“I don’t want to declare victory or finality here. There’s still some work to be done, but we are much further ahead today at this time than we were when we began this morning and where we were a week ago for certain,” Mr Rubio said.
He also stressed: “We just need more time than what we have today. I honestly believe we’ll get there.”
Sky News’ defence analyst Michael Clarke said on the initial US-Russian 28-point peace plan that it was Donald Trump against the world, with maybe only Moscow on his side.
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Is Trump’s plan a ‘capitulation document’?
Mr Rubio praised the Ukrainian attitude towards the talks and said Mr Trump was “quite pleased” after he previously said in a social media post that Ukraine’s leaders had expressed “ZERO GRATITUDE” for US efforts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday that there are signs that “President Trump’s team hears us”.
In a news release on Sunday evening, the White House said the day “marked a significant step forward”.
“Ukrainian representatives stated that, based on the revisions and clarifications presented today, they believe the current draft reflects their national interests and provides credible and enforceable mechanisms to safeguard Ukraine’s security in both the near and long term,” it claimed.
Despite diplomatic progress in Geneva the finish line remains a long way off
We’ve witnessed a day of determined and decidedly frantic diplomacy in this well-heeled city.
Camera crews were perched on street corners and long convoys of black vehicles swept down Geneva’s throughfares as the Ukrainians worked hard to keep the Americans on side.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio did not want to go into details at a press “gaggle” held at the US Mission this evening, but he seemed to think they had made more progress in the last 96 hours than the previous 10 months combined.
The Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy also seemed satisfied enough, posting on Telegram that there were “signals President Trump’s team is hearing us” after a day of “numerous meetings and negotiations”.
That said, we are a long way from the finish line here – something Rubio acknowledged when he said that any proposal agreed here would have to be handed over to the Russians.
At that point, negotiations to stop the war would surely get tougher.
President Putin has shown little or no inclination to stop the conflict thus far.
This, then, is the most important reason the Ukrainians seem determined to keep the Americans on side.
European leaders have presented a counter proposal to the widely criticised US-Russian peace plan, with suggestions including a cap on Ukraine’s peacetime army and readmitting Moscow into the G8.
This will only take place if the plan is agreed to by the US, Russia and Ukraine, and the G7 signs off on the move. Russia was expelled after annexing Crimea in 2014.
The counter proposal also includes US guarantees to Ukraine that mirror NATO’s Article 5 – the idea that “an armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against them all”.
Read more:
Who actually wrote US-Russian peace plan for Ukraine?
In full: Europe’s 28-point counter proposal to US-Russia plan
The initial peace plan was worked up by the White House and Kremlin without Ukraine’s involvement, and it acquiesces to many of Russia’s previous demands.
It covers a range of issues – from territorial concessions to reconstruction programmes, the future Ukrainian relationship with NATO and the EU, and educational reforms in both Ukraine and Russia.
US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet again today to continue work on the proposal.
It has also been reported that President Zelenskyy could travel to the US as early as this week to discuss the most sensitive aspects of the plan with President Trump.
Questions are being raised about the Russia-Ukraine peace plan, after US politicians suggested the proposal’s 28 points did not originate from Donald Trump’s administration but were put forward by Moscow.
Senators, critical of the US president’s approach to Ukraine, said they spoke with the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who told them the plan is a “wish list” from the Russians and not a proposal offering Washington’s positions.
Ukraine war latest: Washington denies backing ‘Moscow wish list’
The US state department has called that account “blatantly false”, with Mr Rubio saying that the senators were mistaken and that Washington was responsible for the proposals.
The 28-point plan has surprised many for being so favourable to Moscow.
Explained: Trump’s peace plan in full
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How Ukraine peace plan came about
Republican senator Mike Rounds is among those who have claimed the plan was not drafted by Washington.
“This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form,” he said at a security conference in Canada. “They want to utilise it as a starting point.”
Mr Rounds added: “It looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with.”
Independent senator Angus King said Mr Rubio told them the plan “was not the administration’s plan” but a “essentially the wish list of the Russians”.
The senators said they spoke to Mr Rubio after he contacted them while on his way to Geneva for talks on the plan.
According to the Reuters news agency, some US officials also said the plan contains material that the US secretary of state has previously rejected and neither he, nor anyone in the state department, was aware of the plan before it was announced.
These latest claims have added to growing confusion over who was involved in drawing up the 28 points.
European leader asks: ‘Who authored the plan?’
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has raised concerns about its origins. On Sunday, he wrote on X: “It would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created.”
In a post on X, Mr Rubio insisted that “the peace proposal was authored by the US… but it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine”.
A former adviser to Vladimir Putin had denied that Russia was behind the peace plan. Sergei Markov told Sky News “it is American” and the points were a “very good basis for diplomatic negotiation”.
Mr Markov insisted there were “some positive moods in Russia about it” but also accused Europe and Ukraine of wanting to continue the war, despite Russia unilaterally launching and pursuing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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Former Putin advisor challenged over 28-point peace plan
Read more from Sky News:
Peace plan scrutinised at G20
Ukraine issued with ‘surrender ultimatum’
Ukraine and Europe cannot reject plan
American special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Kirill Dmitriev in Miami at the end of October to work on the proposals, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Mr Dmitriev, who is a close ally of the Russian president, was blacklisted by the US government in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kirill Dmitriev and special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg in April 2025. Pic: Kremlin Pool Photo/AP
Trump rows back on demands
The US president initially demanded that Ukraine accept the peace plan by Thursday. But he has since rowed back from that position, instead saying the proposal was not his final offer.
The plan currently on the table calls for major concessions by Kyiv, including ceding territory to Russia, pledging not to join NATO and abandoning certain weaponry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not rejected the proposals outright, but said he would not betray Ukraine’s interests. Meanwhile, Mr Putin has described the plan as the basis of a resolution to the conflict.
Separately, Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been equally dismissive of the proposals.
“This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly sceptical it will achieve peace,” he said.
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