Camilla Jessen
New peace plan aims to reset U.S. Russia relations while ending war.
The United States is developing a new diplomatic proposal to end the war in Ukraine, according to reporting from Axios.
The effort is being shaped inside the Trump administration with direct consultation from Russian officials.
Officials say the developing plan contains 28 points and is inspired by the administration’s recent success in helping broker an agreement in Gaza.
What remains uncertain is how Ukraine and its European partners will respond, especially since Russia appears unusually optimistic about the talks.
Behind closed doors
Sources familiar with the talks told Axios that the developing blueprint draws inspiration from Trump’s recent role in brokering the Gaza agreement.
The proposal is divided into four broad themes: ending the war, security guarantees for Ukraine, broader European security, and the future of U.S. relations with both Kyiv and Moscow.
One unresolved issue is among the most contentious: territorial control in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have made incremental gains but still fall far short of the Kremlin’s earlier demands.
Trump’s envoy, businessman Steve Witkoff, has been leading the negotiations and has spoken extensively with Russian interlocutor Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and has played a central diplomatic role throughout the conflict.
Russia says it feels “heard”
Dmitriev told Axios he spent three days meeting Witkoff and other U.S. figures during a visit to Miami in late October.
He praised the process, saying Moscow believes its concerns are “truly being listened to” for the first time.
He added that the goal is to produce a written proposal ahead of an eventual Trump-Putin meeting. A possible summit in Budapest has been discussed but is currently on hold.
The Russian diplomat said the plan expands on principles Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed at their meeting in Alaska in August, aiming to address the conflict in Ukraine while also redefining security arrangements across Europe.
Waiting for Kyiv
Witkoff was expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey this week but postponed the trip. However, he did meet Zelensky’s national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, in Miami, a Ukrainian official confirmed.
“We know that the Americans are working on something,” the Ukrainian official said, adding that Zelensky has repeatedly signaled openness to meaningful negotiations if they can halt the fighting.
A White House official echoed that sentiment.
“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,” the official told Axios.
According to both U.S. and Russian sources, Washington has already begun briefing European governments on the developing framework.
The American official said the plan will evolve based on input from Kyiv and its allies and insisted there is a “real chance” of securing broad support.
Source: Axios
This article is made and published by Camilla Jessen, who may have used AI in the preparation
