What is Really on the Table in the Russia-Ukraine Peace Negotiations?
- The Colloquium
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By Zoë Pomeroy
Two weeks ago, a 28-point Ukraine peace plan created by the US was leaked by an anonymous Ukrainian official. The terms of the proposal include demands long written-off by Ukraine as unacceptable capitulation, and the proposal comes after a snowballing corruption scandal has shaken Zelensky’s position. Last week, phone conversations between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin advisers were also leaked, revealing that this peace plan was in fact greatly shaped by the official Kremlin agenda. In one of the leaked calls between Kremlin advisor Kirill Dmitriev and another Kremlin official, they spoke of submitting their own ‘informal’ proposal to the US which could be worked off of, with the US passing it off as their own. After this call, the 28-point plan was drafted by Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Dmitriev in Florida. Neither Europe nor Ukraine were involved in the drafting of this proposal. The plan requires Ukraine to give up Crimea and the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Kuhansk, withdraw its troops from all contested areas, permanently reduce the size of its army by one third, change its constitution to permanently forbid the country from joining NATO, and ban the firing of missiles into Russia, notably with no reciprocal restraint on Russia’s part.
The proposal would allow Russia to rejoin G8 and reintegrate into the world economy with most global sanctions removed, and while Russia is “expected to not invade neighboring countries,” there is no explicit ban.
Beyond these “maximalist” demands from Russia, ego is also on the negotiating table for this peace deal. Trump and his team have stated that they are looking to replicate his Gaza peace plan in Ukraine, and Trump appears to be attempting to build his legacy as a deal-cutter and president of diplomacy and peace. In another leaked call, Witcoff coached the Russians to play into this desire, lauding him as a “man of peace” in order to get their agenda pushed through. US Secretary of the Army Driscoll Dan Driscoll presented the 28-point plan as an ultimatum to Kyiv, although the Trump administration has since softened its position, clarifying that the proposal is still in “flux.” With mounting US pressure to get a deal signed, Zelensky has been left with a choice: to sacrifice his country’s dignity and sign a deal, or sacrifice one of its biggest allies by rejecting the US’s plan for peace.
President Putin has also made it clear that he is willing to continue his costly invasion, despite high losses on the battlefield and detrimental economic impacts being felt across Russia. At this point, the negotiation landscape appears to be a battle of wills between Putin and Zelensky, with an ever-present and impatient Trump who could decide the fate of Ukraine himself if not given a deal and proper credit soon.
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