Trump’s top negotiator advised the Russians how to pitch Trump a plan to end Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. That took place during a roughly five-minute conversation on Oct. 14 between Steve Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign-policy advisor. Bloomberg News, which obtained a recording of the call, published a transcript on Tuesday.

Witkoff advised flattering the U.S. president and predicted, “I think from that it's going to be a really good call.” The real-estate billionaire continued,“I'm even thinking that maybe we set out like a 20-point peace proposal, just like we did in Gaza. We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace and I'm thinking maybe we do the same thing with you.”

“Here’s what I think would be amazing,” Witkoff said. “Maybe [Putin] says 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, we’re open to those sorts of things.”

Regarding territorial concessions: “Now, me to you, I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere,” said Witkoff, referring to maximalist demands that Ukrainian law forbids its government to consider.

The Witkoff-Ushakov plan, which consisted of 28 points and “became public last week, appeared heavily skewed toward Russian demands and included calls for Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas region to Russia and dramatically reduce the size...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMihgFBVV95cUxOUFd4ZjNieElDWGNnV1k0Um9Y...