MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and a host of other key U.S. officials would come to Moscow next week for talks on a possible peace plan for Ukraine.
Trump, speaking to reporters on board Air Force One as he flew to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, said U.S. negotiators were making progress in discussions with Russia and Ukraine, and Moscow had agreed to some concessions.
A U.S.-based framework for ending the war, first reported last week, prompted fresh concerns that the Trump administration might be willing to push Ukraine to sign a peace deal heavily tilted toward Moscow.
“As for Witkoff, I can say that a preliminary agreement has been reached that he will come to Moscow next week,” Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide, told Russian state television’s top Kremlin reporter, Pavel Zarubin.
Ushakov said that in addition to Witkoff “a number of other administration representatives who are involved in Ukrainian affairs” would also come to Moscow.
Ushakov also said that the leak of a telephone conversation between senior Kremlin and U.S. officials was an attempt to hinder the talks on a possible peace deal for Ukraine.
Bloomberg News reported that Witkoff, in an October 14 telephone call with Ushakov, said they should work together on a ceasefire plan for Ukraine and that Putin should raise it with Trump.
Bloomberg said it had reviewed a recording of the conversation and published a transcript of the call.
When asked why the call was leaked, Ushakov said: “To hinder, probably. It is unlikely this was done to improve relations.”
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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