The newly revealed phone call between U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Kremlin aide sheds rare light on how the Trump administration’s emerging Ukraine peace initiative was seeded — and how, even before formal negotiations began, Washington and Moscow were quietly shaping the diplomatic terrain.
According to a recording obtained by Bloomberg, Witkoff spoke for several minutes on Oct. 14 with Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy adviser.
The call came at a moment when Trump was publicly celebrating his success in brokering the Gaza hostage agreement and privately expressing frustration with Putin’s refusal to end the war in Ukraine.
During the conversation, Witkoff encouraged Ushakov to seize the political momentum created by the Gaza deal and replicate its structure in Ukraine.
He suggested that Putin reach out directly to Trump ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House visit later that week, framing the Russian leader as a cooperative partner.
Witkoff also floated the idea of a “20-point” plan for Ukraine modeled on the Gaza negotiation framework.
The Kremlin appeared receptive. Ushakov asked whether a call between Putin and Trump would be useful and signaled he would convey Witkoff’s guidance. Two days later, the two presidents spoke for more than two hours in a call requested by Moscow.
Both sides characterized the discussion as highly productive, and Trump later announced plans for an in-person summit in Budapest.
The phone call also offers a glimpse into what would later become the Trump administration’s 28-point peace proposal — a document U.S. officials have urged Ukraine to accept as the basis for a ceasefire.
The plan, as reported, would require Kyiv to withdraw from portions of the Donbas that Russia has failed to take militarily, transforming the area into a demilitarized buffer zone effectively recognized as Russian. Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk would receive de facto recognition under the deal, while other front lines would be frozen.
Subsequent conversations among senior Kremlin officials — also reviewed by Bloomberg — show Russian strategists debating how forcefully to press their demands.
Ushakov argued that Moscow should “ask for the maximum,” warning that any ambiguity could allow Washington to reshape the terms and claim premature agreement.
His colleague Kirill Dmitriev suggested that even if the U.S. rejected Russia’s full draft, it would likely adopt a version close enough to meet Moscow’s core objectives.
The Trump administration has publicly defended Witkoff’s role, with the president describing the envoy’s approach as “standard negotiation.” But the disclosures underline a sensitive dynamic: U.S. envoys exploring peace terms with Kremlin officials even as Ukrainian negotiators faced heavy pressure from Washington to accept a compromise they long opposed.
U.S. officials have denied cutting off support, but Ukrainian officials say they were warned intelligence assistance could be reconsidered if Kyiv refused to engage with the outlines of the plan.
After high-level talks in Geneva and further consultations with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Kyiv secured adjustments and a slower timeline for negotiations.
For Moscow, the leaked exchanges demonstrate a broader strategy: publicly signaling openness to a U.S.-drafted deal while privately pushing for maximal territorial concessions.
For Washington, they reveal the administration’s confidence in direct personal diplomacy and its belief that Putin can be persuaded — or pressured — into a settlement acceptable to the White House.
Whether this emerging framework ultimately forms the basis of a ceasefire remains uncertain. But the Witkoff–Ushakov call clarifies one thing: the peace plan taking shape in late 2024 was not born in formal talks, but in a quiet exchange between two presidential confidants who each believed they could steer the other’s leader toward an endgame.
