US holding secret peace talks with Moscow to end Russia's war against Ukraine, Axios reports
The White House and Moscow have been secretly working on a proposal to end Russia's war against Ukraine, Axios reported on Nov. 18, citing U.S. and Russian officials.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian Envoy Kirill Dmitriev have extensively discussed the 28-point peace plan, an unnamed U.S. official said.
Dmitriev described the secretive peace deal optimistically, saying that, unlike in the past, "we feel the Russian position is really being heard."
Russia has repeatedly issued maximalist demands to Kyiv in previous direct peace talks, including that Ukraine give up its NATO aspirations, demilitarize, and cede territory that Kyiv controls.
The secretive peace deal reportedly focuses on peace in Ukraine, security in Europe, security guarantees, and U.S. relations with Kyiv and Moscow in the future.
Dmitriev met with Witkoff and other senior members of the White House administration in Miami from Oct. 24-26, the Russian official told Axios.
"It's actually a much broader framework, basically saying, 'How do we really bring, finally, lasting security to Europe, not just Ukraine,'" Dmitriev claimed.
The two sides hope to produce a written document before U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin next meet, Dmitriev said, adding that a Budapest summit still remains off the table.
The proposed meeting was called off by Trump on Oct. 25, who said he felt it would not be productive as the White House continues efforts to broker a peace deal.
Meanwhile, Witkoff's planned meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey on Nov. 19 has reportedly been postponed, according to Ukrainian and U.S. officials.
National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov has already discussed the secretive peace deal with Witkoff at a separate meeting in Miami a week earlier, unnamed Ukrainian officials told Axios.
The White House has begun briefing Ukrainian and European officials on the new plan, an unnamed U.S. official said.
