Donald Trump’s envoy to hold Ukraine peace plan talks at Kremlin

Donald Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff will hold talks in the Kremlin next week as the United States continues to push for a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

This visit, which was confirmed on Wednesday by Yuri Ushakov, close foreign policy advisor to Vladimir Putin, comes after Ukraine declared having reached a “common agreement” with the White House on the broad outlines of a possible peace agreement.

On Tuesday, Trump said he had assigned Witkoff to meet with the Russian president, while U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was sent to Ukraine.

This follows the emergence last week of a draft 28-point plan, which the US president said has since been “refined, with additional input from both sides”.

Speaking to reporters before the Kremlin confirmed his visit, Trump said his son-in-law Jared Kushner – who has acted as a White House adviser in previous diplomatic talks – could also attend the Kremlin meeting.

He said a deal would involve land grants “in both directions” and “an attempt to clear the border.”

The president, who has made reaching a deal to end the conflict a key foreign policy goal, said he had given no date for either side to reach an agreement, saying “for me the deadline is when it’s over.”

The Kremlin previously said Russia had not yet been consulted on the new draft deal, warning it may not accept amendments to last week’s plan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that although Moscow was supportive of the initial US framework, the situation would be “fundamentally different” if it had undergone substantial changes.

As of Tuesday morning, the Kremlin had not received a copy of the new plan, Lavrov said, accusing Europe of undermining U.S. peace efforts.

U.S. officials have not publicly addressed Russia’s concerns, although Driscoll and Russian representatives met Monday and Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

Some of the issues on which Russia and Ukraine still deeply disagree have reportedly remained unanswered until now, including security guarantees for kyiv and control of several areas of eastern Ukraine where fighting is taking place.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he was ready to meet with Trump to discuss outstanding “sensitive points,” with his administration aiming for a meeting before the end of the month.

“I count on more active cooperation with the American side and with President (Donald) Trump. A lot depends on America, because Russia pays the greatest attention to American strength,” he said.

A day earlier, Zelensky said the 28-point plan had been slimmed down and some provisions removed.

Trump wrote on social media that he looked forward to meeting with Zelensky and Putin “soon, but ONLY when the agreement to end this war is FINAL or in its final stages.”

Despite the White House’s relative optimism, European leaders appeared doubtful that after almost four years of war, peace was within reach. French President Emmanuel Macron said he saw “no Russian desire for a ceasefire”, while Downing Street warned there was “a long road ahead – a difficult road ahead”.

On Tuesday, Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chaired a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, an informal group of Ukraine’s allies in Europe and beyond who have pledged continued support for their defense in the event of a ceasefire, including interim negotiations on a possible peacekeeping force.

In that call – which was also joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – the leaders agreed to create a working group with the US to “accelerate” the work. on the security guarantees that could be offered to Ukraine.

The issue of security guarantees is just one of the areas where Moscow and kyiv disagree. On Monday, Zelensky said the “main issue” blocking peace was Putin’s demand for legal recognition of the territory Russia had seized.

Moscow has consistently demanded Ukraine’s complete withdrawal from the entire eastern Donbass, consisting of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russian forces also control the Crimean peninsula – annexed by Russia in 2014 – and large parts of two other regions, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

After weeks in which diplomacy seemed at a standstill, there has been a flurry of activity since the U.S.-backed plan was leaked.

The original plan called for Ukraine to agree to cede areas it continues to control, pledge not to join NATO and significantly reduce the size of its armed forces – elements that appeared to reflect the Kremlin’s main demands.

While Putin said the original draft could form the “basis” for a deal, Zelensky responded by saying Ukraine faced a choice between retaining the United States as a partner and its “dignity.” European leaders have rejected several elements.

On the eve of discussions on the plan in Geneva on Sunday between U.S., European and Ukrainian officials, Rubio was forced to publicly insist that it was “drafted by the United States” after a group of senators claimed he told them it was actually a Russian project and not the White House’s position.

Since then, the United States and Ukraine have praised progress on the project, with Zelensky saying it represented “the right approach” after securing changes.

While Trump initially pushed Ukraine to accept the plan quickly, the president told reporters Tuesday that the original version “was just a map,” adding, “It wasn’t a plan, it was a concept.”

Also on Tuesday, Bloomberg published a transcript of what it says was an Oct. 14 call between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser.

Asked about the transcript — in which Witkoff reportedly discussed how the Kremlin should approach Trump and said Ukraine would have to cede land to secure a peace deal — Trump told reporters it was a “very standard form of negotiation.” BBC News has not independently verified the reported call leak.

Meanwhile, the fighting continues. Russia and Ukraine said strikes took place Tuesday evening in Zaporizhzhia.

Ukraine’s regional leader Ivan Federov said at least seven people had been injured, while Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed governor, reported that kyiv had hit energy grids in areas it controls, leaving up to 40,000 people without power.

Tens of thousands of troops and thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, and millions of people have fled their homes since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.