The Trump administration has been “secretly” working in consultation with Russia to draft a new plan to end the war in Ukraine, US and Russian officials told Axios. According to the report, the US plan is likely to have 28 points – “inspired” by the US president’s successful push for a deal in war-torn Gaza.
It is not yet clear how Ukraine and its European backers will feel about this, Axios reported.
28 point US plan
Sources told Axios that the 28 points of the plan fall into four general groups: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine.
The US official reportedly said that Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is leading the development of the plan and has discussed it extensively with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Dmitriev said in an interview Monday that he spent three days huddled with Witkoff and other members of Trump’s team when Dmitriev visited Miami from Oct. 24-26.
“We feel that the Russian position is really being heard,” Dmitriev said.
Meeting with Zelensky
U.S. and Ukrainian officials also said Witkoff was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey on Wednesday, but postponed his trip.
Witkoff reportedly discussed the plan with Zelensky’s national security adviser Rust Umerov in a meeting earlier this week in Miami. “We know the Americans are working on something,” the Ukrainian official said.
“The president has made it clear that it is time to stop the killing and make a deal to end the war. President Trump believes there is a chance to end this senseless war if flexibility is shown,” a White House official told Axios.
US plan target
Dmitriev told Axios that the basic idea was to take the principles that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to in Alaska in August and create a proposal “how to resolve the Ukraine conflict, but also how to restore US-Russian ties (and) address Russia’s security concerns.”
“It’s actually a much broader framework that basically says: ‘How do we really finally bring lasting security to Europe, not just to Ukraine,'” she quoted him as saying.
He said the goal is to produce a written document to that effect before the next meeting between Trump and Putin.
What to watch now
The American official confirmed that the White House has started informing European officials about the new plan in addition to the Ukrainians.
The official said the White House believed there was a real chance to get Ukrainians and Europeans on board, and said the plan would be tweaked based on input from various parties.
“We think the timing of this plan is good now. But both sides have to be practical and realistic,” the US official said.
