On a Wednesday in late November, the Kremlin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov confirmed what had been floating in the air for a day: envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Moscow next week, with a meeting with Vladimir Putin treated as all but assured. The visit arrives in the shadow of a leaked recording of private exchanges between Witkoff and the Kremlin, and of a Ukraine peace framework that has been pared from twenty-eight points to nineteen after weekend talks in Geneva. It is one more turn in a long human story of war and negotiation, where the people carrying messages between capitals of
Kremlin Confirms Preliminary Deal for Witkoff Moscow Visit as Trump Defends Ukraine Peace Talks
Someone is leaking them, someone is listening in, but it's not us.
Mark
Why does a Moscow trip matter so much right now?
Mimi
Because it's the first direct step after Geneva. Ushakov says a preliminary agreement exists, and that Witkoff would definitely see Putin. Russia hasn't formally answered the 19-point plan yet, so this is where that answer might come.
Luke
Worth noting "preliminary" is Ushakov's word, and the trip is still next week's plan, not a fact. Trump himself wasn't sure Kushner was going.
Mark
What about the leaked call?
Mimi
Bloomberg published excerpts of a purported recording where Witkoff seemed to advise how Putin should pitch the plan to Trump. Ushakov didn't deny the call and wouldn't discuss it. Trump called that kind of coaching standard negotiation.
Luke
Careful, though. The recording is described as purported, and Trump said he hadn't heard it. Ushakov blamed unnamed people and said it wasn't Russia, but nobody has shown who leaked it.
Mark
Has Ukraine accepted the plan?
Mimi
A U.S. official said Ukrainians agreed, with minor details left. A source told ABC the agreement came in Geneva on the 19-point version. Zelenskyy said it's a framework and that there are sensitive points.
Luke
Those are different strengths of claim. "Agreed to a deal" comes from an unnamed U.S. official, while Zelenskyy's own word is framework. And Trump wouldn't say what the minor details are, so we don't know.
Mark
And Russia's position?
Mimi
Lavrov said departing from Anchorage would change everything. Peskov said it's too early to speak of a deal.
Luke
Right, and the 28-to-19 reduction comes from one Ukrainian official. We don't know which points were dropped.
Il Polso
- A leaked recording of Witkoff's private calls with the Kremlin has put the envoy's loyalties under suspicion, and Trump's defense of the exchanges has only sharpened the unease.
- Kyiv is said to have accepted a 19-point framework in Geneva, yet critics still read the terms as capitulation and Ukraine's president is signaling there are sensitive points left to fight over.
- Moscow has neither formally answered the revised plan nor let go of its insistence that any settlement honor the Anchorage understandings, leaving Lavrov's warning hanging over every step.
- Witkoff's expected trip to Moscow, possibly with Jared Kushner, is the next test: a meeting with Putin that could either move the talks forward or expose how far apart the sides still are.
On a Wednesday in late November, the Kremlin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov confirmed what had been floating in the air for a day: envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Moscow next week, with a meeting with Vladimir Putin treated as all but assured. The visit arrives in the shadow of a leaked recording of private exchanges between Witkoff and the Kremlin, and of a Ukraine peace framework that has been pared from twenty-eight points to nineteen after weekend talks in Geneva. It is one more turn in a long human story of war and negotiation, where the people carrying messages between capitals often matter as much as the texts they carry, and where no one yet knows whether the words on the page will survive contact with the men who must sign them.
On Wednesday, Russian state television carried an interview in which Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said a preliminary agreement was in place for Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, to travel to Moscow next week. Ushakov said Witkoff would definitely meet Putin if he came, and he hoped the envoy would bring others from the American team working on Ukraine. Trump had said much the same the day before, suggesting Jared Kushner might join.
The announcement landed awkwardly. Bloomberg had published excerpts of a purported recording of a call between Witkoff and Ushakov, in which the envoy seemed to coach the Kremlin on how Putin should present its plan to Trump. Ushakov confirmed the call happened, refused to discuss it, and blamed unnamed parties for the leak. Trump dismissed the coaching as standard negotiation, saying a dealmaker must sell each side to the other, and he would not say whether Witkoff was too sympathetic to Moscow.
The diplomacy has moved fast. A U.S.-backed plan of twenty-eight points, which critics called capitulation, was cut to nineteen after talks in Geneva. A U.S. official said Ukraine had agreed, with minor details left. Zelenskyy called Geneva a framework and said he was ready to meet Trump. Trump described Moscow's concessions as large and Europe's role in guarantees as central, while avoiding specifics on what remains open.
Moscow has not formally answered. Lavrov warned that changing the spirit or letter of Anchorage would alter everything, and Peskov said it was too early to speak of a deal. The coming days will show whether Witkoff and Kushner reach Moscow and how the Kremlin responds to a plan it has yet to embrace.
On Wednesday, Russian state television aired an interview in which the Kremlin's top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, said a "preliminary agreement" is in place for Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy, to come to Moscow next week. Ushakov told journalist Pavel Zarubin, host of the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin," that Witkoff would "definitely" meet President Vladimir Putin if he makes the trip. He added that he hoped Witkoff would not come alone but with other members of the American team working on Ukraine, and that discussions would begin from there.
Trump had said as much a day earlier. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he said Witkoff was going over, "maybe with Jared," meaning Jared Kushner. Trump said he was not sure Kushner would go but called him involved in the process and a smart guy, and said he believed they would meet Putin in Moscow next week.
The announcement came against an awkward backdrop. Bloomberg had published excerpts of a recording of a purported phone call between Witkoff and Ushakov, in which the American envoy appeared to advise on how Putin should present the Kremlin's plan for ending the war to Trump. Ushakov appeared to confirm the call took place but would not discuss it. He said he speaks with Witkoff often, that the conversations are confidential, and that nobody should comment on them. He suggested the leak was probably meant to hinder talks, and denied Russia was responsible: someone is leaking and listening in, he said, but it is not Moscow. In a separate interview with the newspaper Kommersant, he said he reaches Witkoff by secure communication and WhatsApp, and suggested the leak could have been organized by Witkoff's detractors.
Pressed on the report and on concerns that Witkoff is too sympathetic to Russia's maximalist war aims, Trump called such coaching standard. A deal maker, he said, has to sell Ukraine to Russia and Russia to Ukraine. He said he had not heard the recording himself, only that it was standard negotiation, and that he imagined Witkoff was saying the same to Kyiv. Asked directly whether Witkoff was too pro-Russia, Trump did not answer. He said instead that the war could go on for years, that Russia has many more soldiers, and that a deal would be good for both sides.
The diplomacy has moved quickly. Last week a U.S.-backed 28-point plan was put to Kyiv, with terms critics said amounted to capitulation. Putin said it could form the basis of a final settlement and tied it to the outcomes of his August meeting with Trump in Alaska. American, European and Ukrainian officials then met in Geneva over the weekend. On Monday a Ukrainian official close to the matter told ABC News the draft had been cut to 19 points. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Geneva produced a "framework," that Kyiv is ready to move forward with the United States, with Trump personally engaged, and with Europe, and that he is ready to meet Trump, noting there are sensitive points to discuss.
A U.S. official told ABC News on Tuesday that the Ukrainians had agreed to the peace deal, with minor details to be sorted out. A source familiar with the talks said Ukraine agreed to the 19-point plan in Geneva, not in Abu Dhabi, where a U.S. delegation afterward held further talks with Russian and Ukrainian representatives. Trump would not say what remains open, calling it "standard things." On land, he hinted at swaps and called the process complicated and slow. He said Moscow is making "big concessions" by agreeing to stop fighting and take no more land, and that Europe will be largely involved in security guarantees for Ukraine.
Moscow has not officially responded to the 19-point version. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Tuesday that if the spirit and letter of Anchorage are removed from the key understandings, the situation would be fundamentally different. Ushakov said the new plan was passed to Russia but has not been discussed in detail with anyone. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is too early to say the parties are nearing a deal.
The things to watch are whether Witkoff, and possibly Kushner, actually land in Moscow next week, and how the Kremlin answers a plan that Lavrov has already said must stay faithful to Anchorage.
Citazioni salienti
I speak with Witkoff quite often, but I do not comment on the substance of our conversations because they are confidential.— Yury Ushakov, Kremlin foreign policy aide
That's a very standard form of negotiation.— President Donald Trump, on the leaked call
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Politics & Governance