Washington has been secretly forming a plan with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, according to a report.
The new 28-point plan would consist of “security guarantees, security in Europe, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine”, Axios reported, citing sources.
It comes amid a fresh attempt by the US to force through a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv after several diplomatic overtures faltered in recent months.
Mr Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is said to have discussed the plan with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Volodymyr Zelensky’s security adviser Rustem Umerov, according to officials from Washington and Kyiv.
The proposal is reportedly inspired by Mr Trump’s plan for the Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect in October. While the plan succeeded in ending the war, it has not ended violence in the enclave and both Hamas and Israel have accused the other of breaching the agreement.
The White House said it has also begun to brief European officials on the proposal, which will be discussed in high-level meetings this week, as EU countries suffer repeated territorial breaches by drones during Russian air attacks on Ukraine.
In a renewed push to end the war in Ukraine, Washington has also sent two top US Army officials for a rare wartime visit to Kyiv, according to Politico.
Army secretary Dan Driscoll and army chief of staff General Randy George arrived on an unannounced trip for talks with Ukraine’s leaders in an attempt to revive stalled peace talks with Russia, it was reported on Wednesday.
The pair are due to meet Mr Zelensky, senior commanders and lawmakers, the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the plans.
Mr Driscoll is also expected to meet Russian officials at a later date, the Wall Street Journal reported separately.
The White House has reportedly turned to Mr Driscoll and other senior commanders in the hope that Moscow might respond better to military intermediaries following earlier failed efforts with political officials.
Recently, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov stated his readiness to meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio to discuss mending bilateral ties, following reports that he had been sidelined by Putin over his failure to secure a peace summit with Mr Trump.
Mr Lavrov spoke by phone to Mr Rubio on 20 October to discuss the possible summit, but the Financial Times cited a source as suggesting that his conversation with Mr Rubio had put Washington off.
The next day, Mr Trump said that he did not want to hold a meeting that would be “a waste of time”. He later said he had cancelled the summit because it “just didn’t feel right”.
