US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised a senior Kremlin official on how Vladimir Putin should pitch a Ukraine peace deal to President Donald Trump, according to a transcript of their discussion published Tuesday by Bloomberg.
The phone conversation in mid-October appears to point to the origins of a Trump-endorsed 28-point proposal that was widely seen as favouring Moscow by requiring Ukraine to make significant territorial concessions and pledge not to join NATO.
Bloomberg said it had produced the transcript after reviewing a recording of the conversation between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy advisor – but gave no indication of how the recording was acquired.
According to the transcript, Witkoff said during the call that he believes Russia – which started the war in Ukraine by launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022 –"has always wanted a peace deal", and that he has"the deepest respect for President Putin".
The US envoy advised Ushakov that Putin should flatter Trump during an upcoming call over the recently concluded Gaza ceasefire and say "that you respect that he is a man of peace and you're just, you're really glad to have seen it happen".
Witkoff also suggested the creation of a 20-point peace plan for Ukraine"just like we did in Gaza", and urged that Putin bring it up with Trump.
"I think... the president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal," he told Ushakov.
The phone call between Trump and Putin took place on October 16, with the US president describing it as"very productive" and subsequently questioning Kyiv's push for Tomahawk missiles just a day before hosting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
Washington's 28-point proposal to end the war has since been replaced by one taking in more of Ukraine's interests.
Witkoff will soon discuss that new version with Putin in Moscow, with Trump saying there were"only a few remaining points of disagreement".
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump said he hadn't heard the tape but called it"a very standard form of negotiation".
When asked if he's concerned Witkoff is too pro-Russian, the president instead addressed the human cost of the war.
"Look, this war could go on for years, and Russia's got a lot more people, got a lot more soldiers, so I think if Ukraine can make a deal, it's a good thing," Trump said, adding"I think it's great for both."
