US envoy advised Russia on presenting Ukraine plan to Trump

U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, made a call last month to a senior Kremlin official suggesting they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should present it to Donald Trump.

In an October 14 call that lasted just over five minutes, Witkoff advised Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy adviser, on how the Russian leader should approach the issue with Trump. His guidance included suggestions for arranging a call between Trump and Putin before Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to the White House that same week and using the Gaza deal as a gateway.

“We put together a 20-point Trump plan, which was 20 points for peace, and I’m thinking maybe we’ll do the same thing with you,” Witkoff told Ushakov, according to a recording of the conversation reviewed and transcribed by Bloomberg.

A White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, confirmed receipt of a request for comment and did not immediately respond. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also did not immediately respond.

The conversation offers for the first time a direct look at Witkoff’s recent tactics in negotiations with Russia and what appears to be the genesis of the 28-point peace proposal that emerged earlier this month — and which the U.S. has pressured Ukraine to accept as the basis for a deal.

Trump and Putin’s relationship

Putin said this month he believes the U.S. plan could be used as the basis for a peace deal. He told senior officials at a Russian Security Council meeting that the 28-point plan had not yet been discussed in detail with the US, but that Moscow had received a copy.

At the time of the Witkoff–Ushakov call, Trump was celebrating the success of his initiative to end the war in Gaza. The day before, he had become the first US president to address the Israeli Knesset since 2008, after securing the release of the last 20 living hostages held by Hamas.

However, Trump’s attitude toward Putin appeared to be cooling. As he prepared for his meeting with Zelenskiy on October 17, he considered supplying Ukraine with longer-range Tomahawk missiles, discussed new sanctions against Russia and expressed his frustration with Putin.

“I don’t know why he continues this war,” Trump said on October 14, the same day Witkoff spoke to Ushakov. “He just doesn’t want to end this war. And I think that’s making him look really bad.”

October 13 – Trump speaks at the Knesset as Israeli hostages are released
October 14 — Witkoff talks to Ushakov, discusses Putin–Trump call
October 16 – Trump speaks to Putin for two and a half hours
October 17 — Zelenskiy visits the White House
Between October 24th and 26th — Witkoff meets with Dmitriev in Miami
October 29 — Ushakov and Dmitriev discuss Russian strategy in call

During his call with Ushakov, Witkoff told his Russian interlocutor that he had deep respect for Putin and that he had told Trump that he believed Russia always wanted a peace deal. The US envoy mentioned Zelenskiy’s upcoming visit and suggested that Putin could speak to Trump before that meeting.

“Zelenskiy will come to the White House on Friday,” Witkoff said. “I will go because they want me to be there, but I think if possible we should have the call with your boss before this Friday meeting.”

Ushakov asked Witkoff if it would be “helpful” for Putin to call Trump. Witkoff said yes.

He also recommended that Putin congratulate Trump on the Gaza peace deal, say that Russia had supported the deal and that he respected the president as a man of peace. “From there, it’s going to be a really good call,” Witkoff said.

“And here’s what I think would be amazing,” Witkoff added. “Maybe he’ll say to President Trump: You know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar 20-point plan for peace, and this might be something that helps move things forward a little bit; we’re open to that kind of thing.”

Ushakov appeared to heed some of the advice. Putin “will congratulate” and will say that “Mr. Trump is a true man of peace”, he said.

“Very productive” call

Trump and Putin held the call two days later, at Russia’s request, and the US president described the two-and-a-half hour conversation as “very productive”. He then announced plans to meet the Russian leader in Budapest — a summit that has not yet taken place — and mentioned that Putin had congratulated him on the Gaza deal.

Continuing the conversation, Witkoff met with Kirill Dmitriev, another senior Kremlin advisor, in Miami, according to an interview Dmitriev gave to Axios. Dmitriev told Axios that he spent three days in Miami starting October 24. A spokesman for him declined to comment.

On Oct. 29, Dmitriev and Ushakov spoke by phone in Russian and debated how strongly Moscow should press its demands in any peace proposal, according to another recording reviewed by Bloomberg.

While Putin’s two aides considered various options, Ushakov argued for asking for “the maximum” in his submissions to the White House.

He said he feared the U.S. could misinterpret any proposal and take something away from it, but still claim there was a deal — which could end negotiations.

Dmitriev, who also heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, suggested sharing a document informally and said he was confident that even if the US did not fully accept the Russian version, it would at least do something very close.

He later assured Ushakov that he would follow exactly what he was told to say and that Ushakov could also discuss the document later with “Steve.”

Bloomberg was unable to confirm exactly which proposals Russia shared with the US or to what extent they shaped the final 28-point plan.

Ukraine under pressure

Since then, however, Ukraine has been hard pressured to accept the proposal that Witkoff prepared with the help of his Kremlin interlocutors. US officials had threatened to cut off critical intelligence support to Ukrainian forces if Zelenskiy refused to accept the proposal, although Kyiv managed to achieve some concessions and convinced the US to slow down after talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday.

Under terms initially proposed by the US this month, Ukraine would have to withdraw troops from parts of eastern Donbas that Russia has failed to capture by military means. The area would become a demilitarized neutral zone, internationally recognized as Russian.

Moscow would also gain de facto recognition of Russian claims to the Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Most of the remaining front line, including Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, would essentially be frozen. Ukraine and its European allies have insisted that the war must cease along current lines.

These are some of the conditions that Witkoff and Ushakov seemed to anticipate during last month’s call.

“From me to you, I know what it will take to reach a peace agreement,” Witkoff said. “Donetsk and maybe a territory swap somewhere. But I’m saying that instead of talking like that, let’s talk in a more hopeful way, because I think we’ll reach an agreement.”

“The president will give me a lot of space and discretion to reach an agreement,” he added. “So if we can create that opportunity — which, after this, I talked to Yuri and we had a conversation that I think could lead to great things…”

“Okay,” replied Ushakov. “It seems good.”