Witkoff to Visit Moscow to Discuss Peace Plan Next Week, Kremlin Says

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov confirmed there was a preliminary agreement for Trump’s envoy to travel to the Russian capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 6, 2025. Gavriil Grigorov/AFP via Getty Images

The Kremlin said U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and several other key U.S. officials will visit Moscow next week for discussions on a possible peace plan for Ukraine.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian TV reporter Pavel Zarubin that arrangements were in place to meet with Witkoff in the Russian capital, TASS reported on Nov. 26.

“As regards Witkoff, I can announce a preliminary agreement for him to visit Moscow next week,” Ushakov said, adding that Trump’s envoy will also be traveling with a number of other officials from Washington “who are involved in Ukraine matters.”

His comments follow remarks made by Trump aboard Air Force One as he flew to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 25, in which he, too, said Witkoff would be visiting Russia, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, may also make the trip.

“We’re having some talks with Russia. Ukraine is doing well. I think they’re pretty happy about it. They'd like to see it end. And we won’t know for a little while, but we’re making progress,” Trump said.

“They’re going to keep talking. They’re talking to Russia now. Steve Witkoff is going over, maybe with Jared. I’m not sure about Jared going, but he’s involved in the process. Smart guy. And they’re going to be meeting with President [Vladimir] Putin, I believe, next week, in Moscow.”

When asked whether he had a deadline for the peace deal to be signed, Trump said that the deadline for him was “when it’s over.”

Discussing Russo-American relations, Ushakov, who was formally the Kremlin’s ambassador to Washington, said that they “continue to be built, albeit with difficulties. The process involves this kind of communication, including over the phone.”

He also addressed the issue of a leaked telephone conversation between top Kremlin and U.S. officials, saying it was an attempt to negatively affect the talks.

Bloomberg reported that Witkoff, in a call with Ushakov last month, said they should work together on a cease-fire plan for Ukraine and that Putin should raise it with Trump.

The outlet said it reviewed a recording of the conversation and published a transcript of the call.

“It’s probably to hinder the process. This is hardly being done to improve relations,” Ushakov said when asked why the call was leaked, according to TASS.

When asked about the source of the information, he said he didn’t know.

“Someone leaks and others do the eavesdropping, but not us,” he said, according to TASS.

Ushakov also reiterated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s assertion yesterday that while Moscow had seen the new version of the plan, it had been received unofficially.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said on Tuesday he was ready to advance a U.S.-backed plan to end the war and discuss disputed issues with Trump.

In a speech to the “coalition of the willing,” a group of about 30 countries willing to send troops and assets to Ukraine once a peace deal with Russia is agreed, Zelenskyy called on European leaders to work out a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” to the country and back it for as long as Russia showed no inclination to end its nearly four-year war.

“We firmly believe—security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine—that was our position in Geneva and always—security decisions about Europe must include Europe, and the same applies to Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, other countries, and every other nation. And this is simply fair—and it actually works,” he said.

“Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk that it simply will not work.”

Zelenskyy said that Kyiv had achieved a “good result” from their meetings with American officials in Geneva, Switzerland.

“That framework is on the table, and we’re ready to move forward together with the USA, with the personal engagement of President Trump,” he said.