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 have said. Axios reported that 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's not yet clear how Ukraine and its European backers will feel about it, the Axios report added.
The 28-point US plan
Sources told Axios that the plan's 28 points fall into four general buckets: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine.
A US official reportedly stated that Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is leading the drafting of the plan and has discussed it extensively with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Dmitriev said in an interview on Monday that he spent three days meeting with Witkoff and other members of Trump's team during his visit to Miami from 24 to 26 October.
“We feel the Russian position is really being heard,” Dmitriev was quoted as saying.
Meeting with Zelenskyy
US and Ukrainian officials also said that Witkoff was expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday in Turkey, but postponed his trip.
Witkoff reportedly discussed the plan with Zelensky's national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, in a meeting earlier this week in Miami. “We know the Americans are working on something,” the Ukrainian official said.
“The president has been clear that it is time to stop the killing and make a deal to end the war. President Trump believes that there is a chance to end this senseless war if flexibility is shown,” a White House official told Axios.
The aim of US' plan
Dmitriev told Axios that the basic idea was to take the principles Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to in Alaska in August and produce a proposal “to address the Ukraine conflict, but also how to restore US-Russia ties [and] address Russia's security concerns.”
“It's actually a much broader framework, basically saying, 'How do we really bring, finally, lasting security to Europe, not just Ukraine,'” he was quoted as saying.
He said the aim is to produce a written document along those lines before Trump and Putin next meet.
What to watch now
A US official confirmed that the White House had begun briefing European officials on the new plan, in addition to briefing the Ukrainians.
The official stated that the White House believes there's a real chance of securing the support of the Ukrainians and Europeans, and noted that the plan would be adapted based on input from the various parties.
“We think the timing is good for this plan now. But both parties need to be practical and realistic,” the US official said.
