Trump administration ‘quietly’ pushes new Russia-Ukraine peace plan: Report

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has been quietly working on a fresh peace plan with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, a source familiar with the discussions told CNN, marking one of the most significant diplomatic pushes of Trump’s presidency.

According to CNN, Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy and the central figure in Washington’s back-channel talks with Moscow, has been leading the negotiations. The source said the pace of discussions increased this week as US officials believe the Kremlin has shown new openness to a potential agreement.

In a parallel move, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday alongside a senior Pentagon team “on a fact finding mission to meet with Ukrainian officials and discuss efforts to end the war,” Army Spokesperson Col. Dave Butler said in a statement.

A US official told CNN the visit was ordered by the president as part of the administration’s attempt to revive peace efforts. Driscoll was expected to brief President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top Ukrainian leaders on battlefield realities, weapons requirements and the emerging diplomatic track. The trip was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed his meeting with Driscoll in a Telegram post, sharing a photo of both leaders. He expressed “gratitude” to the US for its “important support that saves the lives of Ukrainians every day”. He added that he “presented to partners our developments in the field of defense innovations” and “focused on the next steps to implement the historic defense agreements reached by President Zelensky and President Trump.”

Though Driscoll has not previously been visible in earlier rounds of talks, he is a close ally of Vice President JD Vance from their time at Yale Law School and has largely worked on defence acquisitions. Other senior officials traveling with him included Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, Gen. Chris Donahue, the top US Army commander in Europe, and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer.

Russian officials also acknowledged ongoing high-level contacts, telling CNN that US-Russia engagement is continuing, including through Witkoff. Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev visited the US in October for meetings described by a Russian source as “very productive discussions.”

An Axios report noted that the draft being negotiated between Washington and Moscow currently spans 28 points, covering security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe, along with the future of US relations with both countries. When asked, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov downplayed the report, saying there are “no new developments to report so far.”

He added, “There were discussions in Anchorage. Beyond what was discussed in Anchorage, there have been no updates yet,” referring to the August meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Trump in Alaska.

CNN reported that it remains unclear how deeply Europe or Ukraine are involved in the negotiations, or whether they would support the emerging framework.

The push for renewed dialogue comes as the Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to broker an end to the conflict, only for past efforts to collapse when Putin failed to commit to concrete terms.

“I thought that was going to be my easy one, because I have a good relationship with President Putin, but I’m a little disappointed in President Putin right now,” Trump said at a US-Saudi investment conference on Wednesday. “He knows that.”

After Trump spoke with Putin by phone last month, he believed enough progress had been made to plan an in-person summit in Budapest. But within days, the meeting was canceled and new sanctions, the first imposed under Trump’s second administration, were rolled out.

US officials told CNN the White House concluded that Putin’s position on ending the war had not meaningfully changed since his last meeting with Trump at a US air base in Alaska.

Earlier peace efforts had focused on freezing Russian and Ukrainian forces along present front lines, a plan backed by Europe and Ukraine as a basis for renewed talks. The Kremlin rejected that approach, insisting it wanted a long-term settlement, not a temporary ceasefire. (ANI)