Leaked call transcripts reveal U.S. envoy coaching Putin aide on pitching peace plan : NPR

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Trump’s latest Russia-Ukraine peace plan appears to be making progress, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio praising it and special envoy Steve Witkoff planning a visit to Moscow.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Then we learned something about the process that led to this moment: Bloomberg published a transcript of a phone call between Steve Witkoff and an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The press service claims to have listened to his recording and made a transcription. NPR has not independently confirmed the story. The transcript provides insight into how Witkoff encouraged Russia to deal with President Trump and includes his suggestion to develop a peace plan. We will soon hear testimony from the last U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who resigned earlier this year. We start with this Bloomberg report.

MARTIN: We’ll now turn to NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley, who is following all of this from the Ukrainian capital, kyiv. Hello, Eléonore.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Hello, Michel.

MARTIN: So when did this call take place and who was on it?

BEARDSLEY: Well, that took place in mid-October. It was between envoy Steve Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and it was just after Trump sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil companies. And Witkoff, building on his successes in the Middle East, suggests that a similar agreement could take place between Russia and Ukraine. And he encourages Ushakov to convince Putin to call Trump, praise his Middle East peace deal and flatter him. Witkoff also mentioned that Zelenskyy would arrive at the White House soon. He suggests a prior call with the Russians, and we now know, Michel, that this call from Putin the day before Zelensky’s arrival put an end to any hope the Ukrainians had in terms of Tomahawk missiles.

And Michel, there’s a second recording and transcript of Ushakov with fellow Russian Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s economic adviser, talking about last week’s 28-point U.S.-Russian peace plan that was seen as favorable to Russia, and which has now been heavily amended. It appears this was a Russian plan after all, pushed by these two men, although we can’t confirm that the Trump administration hasn’t made changes. But during the call, economic advisor Dmitriev even said, according to Bloomberg, “I don’t think they will adopt our version exactly, but at least it will be as close as possible.”

MARTIN: As close as possible. OK, so how do Ukrainians perceive this?

BEARDSLEY: Well, I spoke with Oleksandr Merezhko, Ukrainian MP and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He actually called for Witkoff’s replacement six months ago because he denounces his incompetence and his complete lack of knowledge of Ukraine and the origins of the war. He is therefore not surprised by the latter. Let’s listen.

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO: We know that unfortunately we are dealing with people from President Trump’s entourage who are taking a pro-Russian position, and we knew that well before. But we have to deal with President Trump’s team, whoever they are.

MARTIN: And what does President Trump have to say about that?

BEARDSLEY: Well, on Air Force One, Trump didn’t address concerns that Witkoff might be pro-Russian, but he brushed off concerns about his methods.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I haven’t heard it, but I heard that these were standard negotiations. And I imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine because each side has to give and take.

BEARDSLEY: You know, Trump’s reaction shocked Merezhko even more. He believes Trump should impeach Witkoff because, in his view, he discredits his administration and the United States in the eyes of the world.

MARTIN: So do you have any idea of ​​- I know it’s – it’s just – the news just broke, but do you have any idea of ​​how these revelations might affect this negotiation? Could this derail things?

BEARDSLEY: Well, Merezhko says he’s not on Ukraine’s side, but he says Putin will reject any peace plan that allows Ukraine to survive as a sovereign state. Here it is again.

MEREJKO: He thinks he’s winning and he can’t stop because any peace could cause him internal problems. He thinks he might lose power because of this.

BEARDSLEY: Now Putin’s envoy Dmitriev is calling the Bloomberg leaks false, while another Russian official said they were leaked to, quote, “hinder” U.S.-Russian relations.

MARTIN: This is Eleanor Beardsley for NPR in Kyiv. Eléonore, thank you very much.

BEARDSLEY: You’re welcome.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit the terms of use and permissions pages on our website at www.npr.org for more information.

The accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. The text of the transcript may be edited to correct errors or match updates to the audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio recording.