Axios: US is secretly consulting with Russia to end the Ukraine war.
Axios reported the news, citing US and Russian officials, and wrote that Washington’s 28-point plan for the war in Ukraine is influenced by Trump’s plan for Gaza.
A senior Russian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Axios that he was optimistic about the new US plan.
It is not yet clear how Ukraine and its European backers view the plan.
The sources told Axios that the 28-point plan includes four general sections: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine.
It is not yet clear how the plan will approach thorny issues such as territorial control in eastern Ukraine.
A US official said that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is leading the drafting of the plan and has discussed it in detail with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Dmitriev, who traveled to Miami last October, told Axios on Monday that he spent three days with Vitkoff and other members of Trump’s team during the trip.
He expressed optimism about Trump’s plan, saying, “But we feel that Russia’s position has really been heard.”
A Ukrainian official said Vitkoff had discussed the plan with Rustam Umarov, the national security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Dmitriev said the U.S. side was explaining the “benefits” of its current approach to Ukrainians and Europeans.
A U.S. official confirmed that the White House had begun the process of informing European and Ukrainian officials about the new plan.