Trump backs Witkoff after leaked call appears to show envoy advised Putin aide on Ukraine peace plan

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff advised a Russian presidential aide on how to draft a peace plan for ending the war in Ukraine and how to communicate with Trump, according to a leaked recording published on Tuesday.

Trump called the recording a "standard thing" when asked about it by reporters on Air Force One.

"He's got to sell this to Ukraine. He's got to sell Ukraine to Russia," Trump said. "That's what a dealmaker does."

According to the transcript of the call, allegedly recorded on 14 October and published by Bloomberg, Witkoff, who helped broker the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, suggested that Moscow and Washington develop a joint peace framework similar to that deal.

“We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace and I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you,” he said.

Witkoff also reportedly gave guidance to Putin’s top foreign affairs aide on what should be in the plan and what Moscow would gain from it.

"Now, me to you, I know what it's going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere," Witkoff said.

"But I'm saying instead of talking like that, let's talk more hopefully because I think we're going to get to a deal here. And I think Yuri, (Trump) will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal."

Witkoff also advised Ushakov to congratulate Trump and frame discussions in a more positive and flattering way.

Ushakov appeared to be receptive to the advice, saying Putin “will congratulate” and will say: “Mr Trump is a real peace man,” he said.

According to the conversation, Witkoff played a role in the timing and sequence of events.

"Zelenskyy is coming to the White House on Friday," Witkoff reportedly told Ushakov. "I will go to that meeting because they want me there, but I think if possible, we have the call with your boss before that Friday meeting."

Zelenskyy visited Trump on 17 October, one day after Trump spoke with Putin by phone and agreed to meet him in Hungary.

Zelenskyy hoped to secure the Tomahawk missiles deal between the US and Ukraine, but Trump did not green-light the delivery.

The meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest, which the two presidents had discussed a day before Zelenskyy’s visit, was later cancelled. The US president has not commented on this part of the recorded conversation so far.

Who came up with the 28-point plan?

Another recording obtained by Bloomberg, dating from a few days after the Witkoff-Ushakov call, shows Russian officials' efforts to draft a plan with maximalist demands.

On 29 October, Ushakov called Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with Witkoff in the US in October, to discuss the draft.

"Well, we need the maximum, don't you think? What do you think? Otherwise, what's the point of passing anything on?" Ushakov said.

"No, look. I think we'll just make this paper from our position, and I'll informally pass it along, making it clear that it’s all informal," Dmitriev replied.

"I don't think they'll take exactly our version, but at least it'll be as close to it as possible."

On 20 October US media outlets reported that Washington and Moscow had come up with a 28-point plan to put an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The reports suggested Washington representatives had been talking secretly to the Russians about a renewed effort to bring the invasion to an end, which involved Ukraine ceding land it still controls to Russia.

Witkoff commented on the story on X, "He must have got this from K..." seemingly in error, instead of sending a private message. "K" likely stands for Kirill Dmitriev.

The document's content, specifically its language, raised further doubts about its origin, with reports claiming it may have been written in Russian and later translated into English.

Euronews reviewed the leaked plan in both languages and found that the wording and syntax of specific phrases, while common in Russian, do not directly translate into English, suggesting that at least some parts may have been translated from Russian using automatic translation tools.

Bloomberg recordings of the alleged call between Ushakov and Dmitriev further point to this possibility.

'Some are tapping, some are leaking, but it’s not us'

Ever since the 28-point draft plan was leaked last week, Moscow officials have been repeatedly referring to it as the “US plan” without even mentioning Russia’s input or participation, despite Moscow’s clearly stated maximalist demands.

Dmitriev called the Bloomberg story "fake" on X, later adding: "The closer we get to peace the more desperate warmongers become."

Ushakov did not deny the recordings' authenticity, only stating the leaked transcripts were intended to "hinder efforts to improve Russia-US relations.”

"I don’t comment on the essence of the conversations, as they are confidential”, he said, adding that he “often” speaks with Witkoff.

He also said he did not know how the recordings got leaked. "Some are tapping, some are leaking, but it’s not us," Ushakov said.

What comes next?

Since the 28-point draft framework got leaked, the plan has been significantly changed during the consultations between the US and Ukraine.

The delegations met in Geneva on Sunday, and since then Kyiv has amended the draft proposal, removing some of Russia’s maximalist demands and shortening the framework, which no longer has 28 points. It now includes “many correct elements”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday.

The changes reportedly include the elements of the European counterproposal, drafted by the UK, France and Germany.

Moscow’s initial plan included Russia’s demands to Europe as well, including the issue of the frozen Russian assets. Moscow also mentioned European security, using it as leverage in its proposal, with the Kremlin stating, “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries”.

Ukraine’s president praised the progress on the possible plan, noting that the most sensitive elements he intends to discuss one-on-one with Trump. Kyiv is hoping to set up the meeting in the coming days.

However, the US president said he would only meet Zelenskyy and Putin when more progress is made in negotiations.

Meanwhile, Trump has decided to send his envoy Witkoff to meet with Putin, while the US Army Secretary Driscoll is to meet with Ukrainian officials to fine-tune the plan. It is unclear if these plans have now changed after the phone call recordings released by Bloomberg.

With Washington and Kyiv repeatedly saying that peace efforts are gathering momentum and the possibility of putting an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine is now more realistic than ever, the Kremlin is signalling that the deal is nowhere closer.

Putin’s spokesperson said on Wednesday it is too early to “jump to conclusions” about Moscow’s war against Ukraine being close to any resolution.

“It's too early to say that”, Dmitry Peskov said amid the Kremlin’s continuous statements regarding its maximalist demands and unwillingness to scale down on those.