The Biden administration may be running Washington, but in the race to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, it is Donald Trump who is moving with the urgency of a sitting president. His newly appointed envoy, real-estate magnate Steve Witkoff, is expected in Moscow next week for talks at the Kremlin — a visit confirmed on Wednesday by Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s veteran foreign-policy aide.
The trip comes as Kyiv says it has reached a “common understanding” with the White House on the broad contours of a possible peace agreement. While details remain guarded, the discussions signal the most serious diplomatic movement on the conflict in months.
Trump, who has made ending the war a centerpiece of his foreign-policy messaging, said on Tuesday he tasked Witkoff with opening direct talks with Putin. At the same time, he said Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was being dispatched to Ukraine. The dual-track strategy, he suggested, was aimed at speeding negotiations that have dragged on with little sign of resolution.
A draft 28-point plan, leaked last week, has since been “fine-tuned” with new input from both sides, Trump said. He floated the possibility that Jared Kushner, a familiar figure in past diplomatic forays, may join the Moscow discussions.
The former president said any agreement would involve “land concessions both ways” and efforts to “clean up the border,” though he avoided specifics, insisting he had set no deadline beyond wanting the war “over.”
Russia has taken a cooler view. While the Kremlin previously signaled interest in the draft plan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Tuesday that Moscow had not been briefed on the revised version and might resist changes. Europe, he added, was undermining U.S. efforts — a familiar refrain in Moscow’s diplomatic playbook.
American officials have not publicly addressed those complaints. Instead, Driscoll met Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi earlier this week, part of a series of quiet contacts meant to keep talks alive.
Key sticking points remain untouched: security guarantees for Kyiv and control of contested territory in Ukraine’s east, where fighting continues despite intermittent diplomacy.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hopes to meet Trump before the end of the month to resolve what he called “sensitive points,” emphasizing that American involvement remains pivotal. “Much depends on the United States,” he said.
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Trump, for his part, wrote that he plans to meet both Putin and Zelensky “soon — but only when a deal is final or close.”
European leaders were far less optimistic. President Emmanuel Macron said he saw “no Russian will for a ceasefire,” while Downing Street warned the path to peace remained “long” and “difficult.”