Ukraine peace plan secret: Witkoff told Russians exactly what to tell Trump; US President says ‘That’s a standard thing’

A leaked phone call revealed that a top aide to Donald Trump coached Russian officials on how to appeal to the US President during negotiations on a Ukraine peace plan, according to a Bloomberg report. The call highlights the behind-the-scenes efforts that influenced Trump’s controversial approach to the conflict.

Coaching Russia on flattery

The October 14 call between Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, top foreign policy aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly focused on arranging a direct call between Trump and Putin to discuss a peace plan.

Witkoff instructed Ushakov on how to open the conversation with compliments: “I would make the call and just reiterate that you congratulate the president on this achievement… that you respect that he is a man of peace, and you’re just, you’re really glad to have seen it happen,” Witkoff said.

Ushakov appeared receptive, replying: “Hey Steve, I agree with you that he will congratulate, he will say that Mr. Trump is a real peace man, and so and so. That he will say.”

Advice on peace plan strategy

Witkoff also shared his thoughts on what would be needed for a peace deal: “Now, me to you, I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere… Instead of talking like that, let’s talk more hopefully because I think we’re going to get to a deal here,” he said.

He suggested modeling the negotiations on the 20-point Gaza peace plan he previously helped broker:

“We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace, and I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you.”

Call timing and Zelensky meeting

The conversation occurred just days before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House. Witkoff urged Ushakov to get Putin and Trump on the phone prior to that meeting: “I will go to that meeting because they want me there, but I think if possible, we have the call with your boss before that Friday meeting.”

Trump, when asked about the recording, claimed he had not heard it but downplayed the coaching: “Well, I haven’t heard it, no. But that’s a standard thing, you know, because he’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a dealmaker does. You’ve got to say, “Look, they want this, you’ve got to convince them of this.” You know, that’s a very standard form of negotiation. I haven’t heard it, but I heard it was standard negotiation. And I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine, because each party has to give and take.”

Impact on Trump’s 28-point peace plan

The call appears to foreshadow Witkoff’s role in shaping Trump’s controversial 28-point peace plan to end the nearly four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The plan originally included provisions for Ukraine to give up the entire Donbas region, reduce its army by a third, and abandon its NATO ambitions.

A revised 19-point version of the plan removed the most contentious demand for Ukraine to cede Donbas territory, but a report indicated Russia is likely to reject the new ceasefire proposal.