Leaked recording: U.S. and Russia secretly discussed a ‘Gaza-style’ peace plan for Ukraine
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised a senior Kremlin official on how Russian President Vladimir Putin could present a potential Ukraine peace proposal to President Donald Trump during a phone call last month, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.
Citing a transcript of the Oct. 14 call, Bloomberg said Witkoff told Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, that the Russian leader should congratulate Trump on the Gaza ceasefire and suggest launching a similar 20-point peace plan for Ukraine.
“I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you,” Witkoff reportedly said. He also proposed arranging a Trump-Putin call before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House visit that week. Ushakov responded that Putin would praise Trump as “a real peace man.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung defended Witkoff’s actions, saying, “Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do.”
Trump, asked about the report on Air Force One, described Witkoff’s approach as “a standard thing…that’s what a deal maker does.” He added, “You got to say, look, they want this. You've got to convince him of this…each party has to give and take.”
The report comes as Trump suggested the possibility of a high-level meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin if negotiations advance. He claimed his team made “tremendous progress” on a US-drafted 28-point peace plan for ending the war in Ukraine, which has been “fine-tuned” with input from both sides, leaving “only a few remaining points of disagreement.”
Recent talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva produced an “updated and refined” framework, according to a joint statement by both countries.
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