Bloomberg: Trumpʼs special envoy Witkoff and Putinʼs aides discussed how to offer the US president a “peace plan” from Russian proposals

Bloomberg published transcripts of phone conversations between US President Donald Trumpʼs special representative Steve Witkoff and Putinʼs foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov on October 14 and between Ushakov and Putinʼs special representative Kirill Dmitriev on October 29. The agency claims that it made the transcript after reviewing the recordings of the conversations.

The dialogues show that Witkoff advised Ushakov on how to present a "peace plan" for Ukraine to Russia, and then Ushakov and Dmitriev discussed transferring their proposals to the Americans, which they were then to present as their plan.

President Trump and Ushakov have already reacted to the publication of the transcripts.

Dialogue between Witkoff and Ushakov on October 14

During the conversation, Witkoff suggests that Putin congratulate Trump on the Gaza ceasefire agreement and say that he respects the US president “as a man of peace”. He says he believes Russia “always wanted a peace agreement” and has told Trump about it.

Witkoff then mentions that he and Ushakov discussed a plan similar to the 20-point plan for Gaza. This is likely the same plan as Trump’s 28-point “peace plan” that was revealed last week. Witkoff suggests that Putin tell Trump about the plan and say that it “could get things moving”.

Officials are also talking about President Zelenskyʼs upcoming visit to the White House on October 17. Witkoff suggests holding Trumpʼs conversation with Ushakovʼs "boss" (meaning Putin) before it.

Trump and Putin had a phone call on October 16. After the call, the US president said he would meet with Putin in Budapest soon and also changed his mind about transferring long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine “for the sake of diplomacy”, Axios wrote that he “was tough” during a meeting with Zelensky the next day.

Dialogue between Ushakov and Dmitriev on October 29

Russian officials are discussing informally passing a document with the Russian position to the Americans, which they will then “make their own” [presumably referring to the Americans presenting the Russian proposals as their own]. Dmitriev says he doesn’t think the Americans will take the Russian version, but at least the American version will be “as close as possible to it”.

Ushakov says the Russians “need the maximum”, otherwise there’s no point in handing over the document. He worries that the Americans might take a different version from the Russians, but say they agreed on it with the Russians. Dmitriev assures him that won’t happen.

Senator Angus King claimed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a meeting with senators critical of Trump’s 28-point plan, said the plan “was not an administration plan, but a wish list for the Russians”. Rubio denied these accusations.

Investigative journalist Khristo Grozev wrote that the plan was entirely Russian in nature. According to him, he had seen an early version of the plan about six months ago. It was almost identical to the current one, but had two additional points: that American investors should “save” the Russian economy, and that Russia and the United States should form an alliance against China, framed in the rhetoric of a “Christian alliance”.

Donald Trumpʼs reaction

In a briefing with reporters on board No. 1, the US president answered questions about the publication of the transcripts.

"I havenʼt heard of them, no. But itʼs a standard thing, you know, because he has to sell it to Ukraine. He has to sell Ukraine to Russia. Thatʼs what he does, thatʼs what a dealmaker does [...] I havenʼt heard of them, but Iʼve heard that it was a standard negotiation. And I can imagine that he said the same things to Ukraine. Because each side has to make concessions to each other," Trump said.

According to him, the “peace plan” was “not a plan, but a concept” and it had already been reduced from 28 to 22 points. Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia previously told the Financial Times that the plan had been reduced to 19 points.

Trump also said Ukraine must make territorial concessions as Russia advances on the front. He added that special envoy Witkoff will meet with Putin in Moscow next week.

Yuri Ushakovʼs reaction

Putin’s adviser Ushakov told Russian media that he did not know where Bloomberg obtained the recordings of his conversations with Witkoff and Dmitriev. He did not directly answer whether the conversations were real or whether the transcripts were fake.

"Someone is leaking, someone is eavesdropping, but not us," he said.

Ushakov confirmed that Witkoff will come to Moscow to meet with Putin. It is tentatively scheduled for next week. Other White House officials are also expected to arrive with Witkoff.

Peace plan for Ukraine

The 28-point US peace plan was first reported by NBC News, and all of its points were published by Axios. One of the main provisions concerned territories and stipulated that Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, would be recognized as de facto Russian. The US President Trump has set a deadline for approving the plan of November 27.

After the plan was leaked to the media, Ukraine, the United States, and European partners held a series of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23. After all the meetings, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported “tremendous progress”. Despite Trump’s words about a deadline, Rubio allowed for a more flexible schedule that would allow for more negotiations.

Financial Times sources wrote that the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19. It is not known exactly which provisions were removed. The Telegraph previously published an alternative plan from the EU, which contained 24 points.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the document retained the points on the need to release civilians and prisoners of war on an "all for all" basis and return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. He also confirmed that the plan had been shortened and Ukraineʼs position had been taken into account.

Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia, who was part of the delegation, said that the US agreed not to limit the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 600 000, and the clause on amnesty for potential war criminals was reworked to take into account "complaints of those who suffered in the war".

The most controversial issues were put "out of brackets", in particular, the issues of territories and relations between the US, NATO, and Russia. They are to be discussed by Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.