WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� chief interlocutor with the Russian government last month advised a senior aide to on how the Russian leader should go about pitching the U.S. president on a peace plan aimed at bringing an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a transcript of the call published by Bloomberg 草莓传媒 on Tuesday.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, according to a transcript of the Oct. 14 call published by the news service, advised Putin鈥檚 foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov that Putin should call Trump to congratulate him for the Gaza peace deal, say Russia had supported it and that he respects the president as a man of peace.
鈥淔rom that, it鈥檚 going to be a really good call,鈥� Witkoff said according to the transcript.
When asked by Russian state media to comment on Bloomberg’s report, Ushakov did not question the recordings’ authenticity but said that they had not been leaked by Moscow. He also said that the calls had likely been leaked to 鈥渉inder鈥� U.S.-Russia ties. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unlikely this is being done to improve relations,鈥� he said.
Ushakov also said that he spoke with Witkoff by phone 鈥渜uite often鈥� but refused to discuss the content of the recording. 鈥淭he essence of these conversations is that they are confidential. I won鈥檛 comment. No one should comment.鈥�
The Bloomberg report came as Trump on Tuesday said a proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine has been and announced to meet with .
The White House did not dispute the veracity of the transcript, and Trump described Witkoff’s reported approach to the Russians in the call as 鈥渟tandard鈥� negotiating procedure.
鈥淗e’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia,鈥� Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew to his home in Florida on Tuesday night. 鈥淭hat’s what a dealmaker does.鈥�
But U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who has been critical of Trump’s approach to Ukraine, said the transcript showed Witkoff favors the Russians. 鈥淗e cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired,鈥� Bacon said on social media.
Bloomberg said it reviewed a recording of the call, but did not say how it obtained access to the recording. The Associated Press has not independently verified the transcript.
The Witkoff-Ushakov call happened a day after Trump made a triumphant visit to Israel and Egypt to celebrate sealing the Gaza ceasefire.
鈥淗ere鈥檚 what I think would be amazing,鈥� Witkoff said to his counterpart during the call, according to Bloomberg. 鈥淢aybe he says to President Trump: you know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar 20-point plan to peace and that could be something that we think might move the needle a little bit, we鈥檙e open to those sorts of things.鈥�
Witkoff also suggested setting up a Trump-Putin call before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House visit later that week and suggested that Putin congratulate Trump on the Gaza agreement as an entry point into the call. Ushakov agreed that Putin 鈥渨ill congratulate鈥� and will say 鈥淢r. Trump is a real peace man.”
to each other a day before the U.S. president held White House talks with Zelenskyy. Shortly after that meeting with Zelenskyy on Oct. 17, Trump said that Ukraine and Russia should 鈥渟top where they are鈥� on the battlefield 鈥� meaning Ukraine should concede territory Russia had seized from its neighbor.
On Oct. 29, Ushakov spoke by phone with 鈥� a close adviser to Putin on Ukraine 鈥� and debated how strongly Moscow should push for its demands in a prospective peace proposal, according to another recording reviewed by Bloomberg.
鈥淚鈥檒l informally pass it along, making it clear that it鈥檚 all informal. And let them do like their own,鈥� Dmitriev told Ushakov in the back and forth. “But, I don鈥檛 think they鈥檒l take exactly our version, but at least it鈥檒l be as close to it as possible.
The exchange happened soon after Dmitriev had traveled to Florida for talks with Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and informal adviser, that centered on creating the framework for a 28-point peace plan.
The original plan, which became public last week, appeared heavily skewed toward Russian demands and included calls for Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas region to Russia and dramatically reduce the size of its military. It also included an agreement from Europe that Ukraine will never be allowed to join the NATO military alliance.
鈥淭his story proves one thing: Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do,鈥� White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Dmitriev said in a social media post that the transcript was 鈥淔ake鈥� and said in a second post: 鈥淭he closer we get to peace, the more desperate warmongers become.鈥� The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted the proposal was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians, in response to bipartisan pushback in Washington that the leaked plan amounted to a Russian wish list. The State Department declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was sending Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Ukrainian officials as Witkoff meets with Putin. Trump also suggested he could eventually meet with Putin and Zelenskyy, but not until further progress has been made in negotiations.
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