Behind the scenes of work on the peace plan for Ukraine. Mysterious meeting in Miami and the role of “Putin's man”
The meeting described by Reuters took place in Miami at the end of October with the participation of US special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Kirill Dmitrievwho heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), one of Russia's largest sovereign wealth funds.
Dmitriev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, played a leading role in talks with the US about the war and met with Witkoff several times this year. The Trump administration issued a special waiver to allow him entry, one senior U.S. official told Reuters.
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Putin's man dictated the plan to Trump's people?
As the agency writes, Dmitriev and his fund were blacklisted by the US government in 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions effectively prevent American citizens and companies from dealing with them.
The meeting resulted in a 28-point plan to end the war, two people familiar with the situation said. The plan, which was made public this week by Axios, came as a surprise to U.S. officials in various corners of the administration and caused confusion in embassies in Washington and European capitals.
See also: Donald Trump is putting pressure on Ukraine. “They don't have cards”
It also drew criticism from Ukrainians and their allies for appearing heavily tilted toward Russian interests, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowing on Friday not to betray Ukraine's interests.
A document that calls for significant concessions from Ukraine, appears to be inconsistent with the Trump administration's tougher stance towards Moscow, including sanctions imposed on its energy sector.
“It is unclear whether Dmitriev came to the Miami meeting with certain Russian demands and whether they were included in the peace plan. Two people familiar with the meeting said Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, was also in Miami earlier this week to discuss the plan with Witkoff,” reads the Reuters material.
See also: Criticism of Trump's plan in the USA. “Dictated by Putin”
One source said Witkoff told Umer about the plan during that visit and that the United States conveyed the plan to Ukraine through the Turkish government on Wednesday, before presenting it directly in Kiev on Thursday.
Umerov described his role as “technical” and denied discussing details of the plan with US officials, Reuters reports.
Donald Trump's plan
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had given Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky until Thursday to agree to the plan to end the war proposed by the Americans.
“He doesn't like this arrangement?” Trump asked. — He has to like it, and if he doesn't like it, then, you know, they should just keep fighting – he added. When asked whether the US would withdraw support for Ukraine if the US refused, the US president replied that Zelensky “will have to accept something.”
— Remember what I said in the Oval Office recently? “I told him 'you don't have any cards,'” he added.
Axios published details of the 28-point peace plan for Ukraine negotiated by the US and Russia. According to it, Kyiv is to undertake, among others: not to join NATO, limiting the number of troops to 600,000. soldiers and giving Russia part of the territory.
