A senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday did not dispute the authenticity of two leaked phone calls involving US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, according to media reports.
The first, an Oct. 14 call, took place between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign-policy adviser.
The recording, obtained by Bloomberg, shows Witkoff advising Ushakov on how to present a peace deal to US President Donald Trump.
Witkoff suggested a “20-point Trump plan” for peace, emphasizing optimism and potential territorial compromises such as “Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere.”
“Yuri, Yuri, here’s what I would do,” Witkoff is heard saying. “I would make the call and just reiterate that you congratulate the president on this achievement… that you respect that he is a man of peace.”
Witkoff added: “Maybe he [Putin] will say to President Trump: You know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar 20-point plan to peace, and that could be something that we think might move the needle a little bit… I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done… Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere.”
“But I’m saying instead of talking like that, let’s talk more hopefully because I think we’re going to get to a deal here. And I think Yuri, the president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal,” he added.
The second, an Oct. 29 call, involved Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to Putin. Ushakov and Dmitriev discussed drafting a Russian paper to share informally while noting the risk that others could misrepresent it. Dmitriev suggested consulting Witkoff later.
“Well, I think we’ll just make this paper from our position, and I’ll informally pass it along, making it clear that it’s all informal,” Dmitriev said. Ushakov replied: “They might twist it later, that’s all. There is that risk…Well, alright, never mind. We’ll see.”
The 28-point plan was leaked to Axios, and the Trump administration later confirmed that it served as the basis for the peace deal presented to Kyiv.
Ushakov told Russia TV that he did not know how Bloomberg obtained the recordings.
“Someone leaks, someone listens in. But not us,” he said. He added that he speaks with Witkoff regularly but does not comment on the content of their conversations.
Ushakov also acknowledged that he sometimes conducts work calls over WhatsApp and suggested those conversations “could have been listened to.”
He said secure Kremlin lines rarely leak, but WhatsApp is “another matter,” adding it was “unlikely” the recordings came from participants in the calls.
The irony, Russian media noted, is that WhatsApp is officially banned for government use in Russia, yet the Kremlin adviser was speaking with Witkoff through the app.
According to Important Stories [Vazhnye Istorii], if the call was indeed on WhatsApp and was intercepted, there are only three possible explanations: the app has a backdoor (which Meta denies), Ushakov’s device is infected with spyware, or he used an unsecured line and is now deflecting.
Dmitriev dismissed Bloomberg’s reporting as “fake.”
On Tuesday, Trump celebrated on his own social media platform the “tremendous progress” of his team in carving a path to peace in Ukraine and tacitly denied speculation that Russia had authored the controversial 28-point plan revealed last week.
“The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement,” he said.
Speaking after the Thanksgiving turkey pardoning, he said parties were getting “very close” to a possible settlement.
“I think we’re going to get there,” Trump said.
The White House said Witkoff was “doing his job,” but some Republicans criticized him. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said Witkoff should be fired for “fully favoring the Russians” and questioned his trustworthiness in leading negotiations.
Trump said he is sending Witkoff, potentially joined by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week.
Trump added he hopes to meet soon with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”