The US and Russia were reported to have held closed-door talks to finalize a Russia-Ukraine peace plan, which requires Ukraine to give up territory. Russia denies any new progress.
The U.S. government is nearing a “major breakthrough” with Russia on a framework agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the core of the agreement involving key territorial concessions from Ukraine, aiming to swiftly terminate the years-long geopolitical dispute in this manner.
On November 20, according to CCTV News reports, this potential agreement, directly negotiated between the White House and Moscow, could be finalized as soon as this week or by the end of the month, and may be submitted to Ukrainian President Zelensky as a "fait accompli," with "almost no consultation with Ukraine or European allies."
However, Russian officials have denied this. According to CCTV News, on the 19th, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova stated that the Russian Foreign Ministry has not received any information about a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement from the U.S. through official channels. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said that aside from the outcomes of the Russia-U.S. Anchorage meeting, there has been no new additional progress regarding the resolution of the Ukraine conflict.
According to media reports, this 28-point peace proposal under discussion is extremely specific, and its core provisions require Ukraine to make major strategic compromises, which are likely to meet strong opposition in Kyiv and among European governments.
Core of the Plan: Exchanging Territory for Security Guarantees
According to CCTV News, previously, U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs Witkoff was reported to have held three days of closed-door talks in Miami with Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev at the end of last month, and a 28-point peace proposal is now under discussion.
Media reports indicate that this peace proposal, which has the support of the Trump administration, is extremely detailed, with its core provisions requiring Ukraine to make major strategic concessions.
The plan stipulates that Ukraine must hand over the eastern Donbas region—including key defensive positions still under Kyiv’s actual control—to Russia. In addition, the proposal requires Ukraine to relinquish its bid to join NATO for several years and explicitly prohibits the deployment of international peacekeeping forces within Ukraine's borders. Previously, Kyiv and European countries had viewed international peacekeeping forces as a crucial deterrent against Russia.
In exchange, Russia would commit to no further attacks on Ukraine or any other European country, and this mutual non-aggression guarantee would need to be codified into law.
This blueprint was jointly developed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner after consulting with Kremlin insider Kirill Dmitriev.
Some particulars of the new plan align with those proposed by Putin during his meeting with Witkoff in August and at the subsequent summit with Trump in Alaska.
Ukraine and European Allies Expected to Oppose
The proposal is expected to meet fierce opposition from Kyiv and European governments.
Media citing analysts pointed out that forcing Ukraine to unilaterally withdraw from its most strongly defended regions would not only undermine Kyiv’s sovereignty, but could result in massive domestic political pressure on Zelensky.
European allies have been caught off guard by the proposal; German officials revealed they were not informed of the detailed contents of the offer. Based on the disclosed framework, the proposal includes many Kremlin demands previously deemed unacceptable by the West, which could lead to divisions within the transatlantic alliance’s Russia policy.
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