WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump has softened his earlier insistence that Ukraine agree to a U.S.-supported peace proposal by Thursday, dismissing a report that American envoy Steve Witkoff had advised Russian officials on how to approach him about the plan.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed to Florida for Thanksgiving, Trump said Washington’s talks with both Moscow and Kyiv were showing progress, adding that Russia had already signaled willingness to make certain concessions, though he declined to specify what they were.
News of a U.S.-drafted framework to end the conflict, revealed last week, had raised concerns that the Trump administration might pressure Kyiv into accepting a deal largely favorable to Moscow.
“That’s pretty much how negotiations normally work,” Trump said, suggesting Witkoff would be giving similar guidance to Ukrainian officials.
Trump noted that Russia appeared to be gaining the upper hand on the battlefield and argued that it might ultimately benefit Ukraine to reach a settlement. He remarked that some Ukrainian territory could end up in Russian hands “anyway” in the coming months.
He added that European partners were working with Washington on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump also confirmed that Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Moscow next week to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was involved in brokering the Gaza arrangement that led to a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire, is also participating in the discussions.
Although Trump had recently indicated he wanted Ukraine to sign onto an agreement by Thanksgiving, he and his team have since stepped back from the strict deadline, now saying they simply want a deal reached as soon as it can realistically be achieved.
“My deadline is when the war ends,” Trump said during the flight.
According to Bloomberg News, Witkoff told Putin’s senior foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov during an Oct. 14 phone call that both sides should coordinate on a potential ceasefire proposal for Ukraine, and encouraged Putin to raise the matter directly with Trump. The report said Witkoff even suggested arranging a Trump-Putin phone call before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the White House later that week, using the recent Gaza agreement as an entry point.
When asked about the report, Trump said he had not listened to the call recording cited by Bloomberg but was unsurprised by the claims, saying, “That’s what a dealmaker does.”
