Leaked calls: Trump's envoy advised the Kremlin on how to influence its plan for Ukraine

MoscowDonald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, advised Vladimir Putin's international policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, on how to approach the US president about the Ukraine peace plan to ensure it served his interests. In a call leaked by Bloomberg in mid-October, the US envoy recommended that the Russian official anticipate Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House, where the delivery of Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv was to be discussed, and propose a Putin-Trump phone call. Witkoff, who had just helped to successfully broker a Gaza agreement, suggested to Ushakov that the Russian president cite the twenty-point peace plan between Israel and Hamas as an example to suggest that a similar document between Russia and Ukraine would be possible. He advised Putin to congratulate Trump on the results in the Middle East and to make it clear that Russia had supported and respected the US leader as a "man of peace." "From there, it will be a very good call," Witkoff said.

Trump's envoy also told Uixakov: "I told the president that Russia has always wanted a peace agreement, that's what I believe." And he added, demonstrating that he has always conceived of resolving the conflict as a transaction, unlike Putin, who demands addressing its root causes: "I know what it will take to close the deal: Donetsk and perhaps a land swap somewhere. But instead of talking like that, let's talk with more hope because I believe we will reach an agreement."

No sooner said than done. A day before Zelensky's arrival in Washington, at Moscow's initiative, Putin called Trump. The conversation was described as "very productive," and the US president announced an imminent summit in Budapest between the two presidents, which ultimately stalled in the planning stages. The next day, the White House leader denied the Ukrainian president the missiles he had been hiding for weeks, promising to deliver them.

The Kremlin's stratagem

A few days later, Witkoff met in Miami with Kirill Dmitrievanother of the Russian negotiators. It was there that the famous initial 28-point peace plan, which the United States presented to Moscow and Kyiv last week, began to take shape. Dmitriev and Ushakov then discussed, in a telephone conversation also accessed by Bloomberg, what strategy to follow and which points to convey to Washington so that the proposal would align with their interests.

"We need the maximum, don't you think? Otherwise, what's the point of giving them anything?" Ushakov asked. "I think we'll draft a document from our perspective and pass it on to them informally, making it clear that it's all informal. And we'll let them draft their own document. I don't think they'll adopt our version exactly, but at least it will be as close as possible," Dmitriev replied.

This conversation proves that, as several analysts have pointed out, the 28-point text that sent the Trump administration scrambling It contains some expressions that are not genuine English and appear to be translated directly from Russian. Ukraine and its European allies denounced the clauses as being highly favorable to Russia, and Zelensky was forced to address the nation in which, faced with US pressure to accept the agreement, he warned of the risk of losing national dignity.

One of those involved denies it

Despite the publication providing verbatim transcripts of the phone conversations, Dmitriev asserted that the information is "false." "Peace continues to advance despite the desperate attempts by warmongers and the war lobby to sabotage it. Their media fear campaigns are noisy, but the will of the people who choose peace is stronger," he added. Ushakov, however, has not denied it. "Someone is listening, someone is leaking, but it's not us," he enigmatically remarked, while confirming that Witkoff will visit Moscow next week.

The US president has also not refuted the news. When asked about Witkoff advising the Russians on how to win him over, he dismissed it lightly. "That's what a negotiator does. You say, 'They want this, you have to convince them of that.' It's a very standard way of negotiating. I imagine he must say the same thing in Ukraine." Trump says he's not worried about his envoy being too pro-Russian, because this war "could last for years" and if Ukraine manages to strike a deal "it will be great for both of us."