Trump-Putin Peace Proposal: A 28-Point Plan Under Fire

International

Nov 25

Overview

The peace proposal started as a 28-point plan, which has since been revised to 19 points following intense negotiations in Geneva over the weekend of November 23-24, 2025^[1]^[2]^[4]. This framework has generated significant controversy for appearing to heavily favor Russian interests while demanding substantial concessions from Ukraine.

Key Negotiators and Their Roles

United States

Steve Witkoff – Trump's special envoy (officially Middle East envoy but became de facto Russia negotiator), a New York real estate mogul with no diplomatic background^[2]^[21]^[24]
Jared Kushner – Trump's son-in-law, participated in the October Miami meeting where the plan was drafted^[21]^[22]^[26]
Marco Rubio – Secretary of State, brought in late to the process and initially distanced himself from the plan^[22]^[67]^[68]

Russia

Kirill Dmitriev – CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a sanctioned Putin ally who was granted special waiver to enter the U.S. for negotiations^[21]^[23]^[29]

Ukraine (received plan, not involved in initial drafting)

Rustem Umerov – Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council^[29]^[61]
Andriy Yermak – Presidential chief of staff, led Ukrainian delegation in Geneva^[73]^[86]

Major Conflicts of Interest

Steve Witkoff

Multiple serious conflicts compromise his role as negotiator^[24]^[27]^[30]^[52]:

Russian oligarch ties: Long-standing business partnership with Len Blavatnik, a Russian-born billionaire whose Access Industries co-financed luxury developments with Witkoff's company. Blavatnik has extensive connections to Putin's circle and stands to benefit from renewed U.S.-Russia business ties^[45]^[52]
Gulf state financial dependencies: His real estate empire relies heavily on sovereign wealth funds from Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia—the same entities involved in the negotiations^[49]
Russian mafia connections: In 2010, wrote a letter of recommendation for Anatoly Golubchik, described as "a notorious senior figure in the Russian and former Soviet mafia in New York"^[52]
Diplomatic protocol violations: Conducted solo meetings with Putin using Kremlin interpreters without U.S. Embassy staff present, raising concerns he was "outmaneuvered" by Putin^[24]^[52]
No Russia expertise: His office has no dedicated Russia or Ukraine experts despite his expanded role^[27]

Jared Kushner

Extraordinary financial conflicts intertwined with diplomatic duties^[32]^[44]^[50]^[53]:

$2 billion Saudi investment: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) invested $2 billion in his Affinity Partners firm in 2021, overruling their own advisory board's recommendation against the investment due to Kushner's "inexperience" and "excessive" fees^[50]^[53]
Additional Middle East billions: Secured another $540 million from UAE and Qatari sovereign funds^[50]
Ongoing business while negotiating: Simultaneously closing a $55 billion Electronic Arts deal with Saudi PIF while participating in peace negotiations^[32]^[44]
Annual management fees: Earns over $80 million annually managing investments from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar—countries with interests in the peace process^[50]
Previous Dmitriev connections: Worked directly with Dmitriev during Trump's first term, coordinating on COVID ventilator shipments that raised Treasury Department sanctions concerns^[21]

Kirill Dmitriev

Sanctioned Russian official operating as primary Russian negotiator^[23]^[25]^[29]:

U.S. sanctions: Both Dmitriev and RDIF were blacklisted by the U.S. in 2022 following Russia's invasion, prohibiting American engagement^[21]^[23]
Special waiver granted: Trump administration issued extraordinary exemption allowing his entry to the U.S. for negotiations^[21]^[29]
Putin's economic representative: Serves as Special Representative of the Russian President for Investment and Economic Cooperation^[25]
Previous Trump connections: Established relationships with Trump's team during the first administration; met with Erik Prince in 2017 and coordinated with Kushner, as documented in the Mueller Report^[21]
Saudi financial ties: RDIF is a significant investor in Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, creating overlapping interests with Kushner^[52]

Marco Rubio

Initially excluded from negotiations, creating confusion about U.S. position^[22]^[67]^[68]:

Late involvement: Not fully briefed until late in the process; Trump only learned about the plan "at the last minute"^[22]^[26]
Contradictory statements: U.S. Senators reported Rubio called it a Russian "wish list" and "not our peace plan," which Rubio later denied^[69]^[71]
Displaced by Witkoff: Despite being Secretary of State and the country's top diplomat, was sidelined in favor of the real estate mogul^[24]^[30]

The 28-Point Plan: Major Provisions

Category	Point Numbers	Key Provisions	Sources
Territorial Concessions	Point 21	Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk recognized as "de facto Russian," including by the United States; Kherson and Zaporizhzhia frozen along current contact lines (de facto recognition); Ukrainian forces must withdraw from parts of Donetsk they currently control, creating a demilitarized buffer zone recognized as Russian territory; Russia relinquishes only smaller territories outside these five regions	^[1]^[2]^[3]
Military Restrictions	Points 6-10	Ukraine's armed forces capped at 600,000 personnel (down from current 880,000); NATO prohibited from stationing troops in Ukraine; European fighter jets stationed in Poland instead; If Ukraine invades Russia or launches missiles at Moscow/St. Petersburg, security guarantees become void	^[1]^[2]^[3]
NATO Membership Ban	Point 7	Ukraine must enshrine in its constitution a commitment never to join NATO; NATO must adopt a provision that Ukraine will not be admitted in the future; Point 3 states NATO will not expand further	^[1]^[2]^[3]
Russian Economic Benefits	Point 13	Sanctions on Russia lifted in stages; Russia reintegrated into global economy; Russia rejoins G8 (expelled after Crimea annexation in 2014); U.S. enters "long-term economic cooperation agreement" with Russia for energy, AI, data centers, Arctic rare earth extraction	^[1]^[2]^[3]
War Crimes Amnesty	Point 26	"All parties involved in this conflict will receive full amnesty for their actions during the war"; Contradicts International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Putin; U.S. cannot unilaterally grant amnesty for international war crimes	^[1]^[2]^[5]
Elections and Governance	Point 25	Ukraine must conduct elections within 100 days	^[1]^[2]
Enforcement	Point 27	"Peace Council" chaired by President Donald J. Trump monitors implementation	^[1]^[2]

How This Contradicts Ukraine, NATO, and U.S. Interests

Undermines Ukrainian Sovereignty

^[41]^[42]^[56]^[57]

Forces Ukraine to cede approximately one-fifth of its territory, including areas it currently controls militarily^[1]^[2]
Dictates Ukraine's constitutional structure, military size, and foreign policy choices^[56]
Requires elections on Russia's timeline
Ukrainian officials and the Congressional Ukraine Caucus describe it as "capitulation" and "surrender"^[59]^[85]

Violates NATO Principles

^[41]^[56]^[58]

Requires NATO to change its statutes to exclude Ukraine, overriding the 2008 declaration that Ukraine would eventually join^[80]
Positions U.S. as "mediator" between Russia and NATO despite being NATO's largest member^[41]
Point 3's "NATO will not expand further" constrains alliance decisions without consensus^[76]
European leaders emphasized that "components related to the European Union and NATO would require the agreement of EU and NATO members"^[58]

Contradicts Established U.S. Foreign Policy

^[19]^[42]^[59]

Recognizes territorial conquest by force, violating the international rules-based order
Rewards aggression by lifting sanctions and granting Russia economic benefits
U.S. lawmakers from both parties criticized the plan as favoring "the interest of the aggressor" over "a democratic Ukraine"^[59]
Grants amnesty that conflicts with U.S. support for international accountability^[5]

European Security Concerns

^[41]^[58]^[63]

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned the plan "would ultimately leave Ukraine more susceptible to Russian aggression in the long term"^[41]
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated Russia "cannot continue to advance and conduct its hybrid attacks in Europe"^[41]
European leaders rejected the plan as "dangerous, destabilizing, and a blueprint that could hand Russia exactly what it wants"^[60]
France, UK, and Germany issued joint statement opposing territorial concessions and military size restrictions^[58]^[68]

Military Imbalance

^[70]^[72]^[76]

While 600,000 troops seems substantial, it's a one-third reduction while Russia maintains full military capacity
No reciprocal limitations imposed on Russian military forces^[42]
Ukraine and European allies argue a strong Ukrainian military is "the best security guarantee"^[78]
Security guarantees in the plan are vague and non-binding compared to NATO Article 5^[80]^[86]

Economic Inequity

^[58]

Frozen Russian assets (€140 billion held primarily in Belgium) would be split between Ukraine reconstruction and Russian economic benefit, rather than full reparations to Ukraine
U.S. gains economic benefits from both investment funds
Europe expected to contribute €100 billion while losing leverage over frozen assets^[58]

Plan Evolution: 28 Points to 19 Points

Current Status and Developments

Revised to 19 Points (November 23-24, 2025)

^[4]^[82]^[88]

Following intense Geneva negotiations, the plan was significantly revised:

Military size cap reportedly removed^[88]
Automatic NATO veto eliminated^[86]
War crimes amnesty provision deleted^[88]
No unconditional territorial transfer; Ukraine would pursue occupied territories through diplomatic means only^[86]
References to Article 5-style security guarantees potentially added^[86]
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister: "Very few elements remain from the original version"^[88]

Russia's Position

Putin stated the original 28-point plan "could serve as the foundation for a final peace settlement" but noted it has "not been discussed with us in detail"^[4]. How Russia will respond to the revised 19-point plan remains uncertain^[88].

Ukraine's Position

President Zelensky has not outright rejected negotiations but emphasized Ukraine's "red lines": no recognition of occupied territories, no limits on armed forces, no veto over future alliances^[78]. He characterized the original proposal as the U.S. "vision" rather than a final offer and stated Ukraine faces "one of the most difficult moments of our history"^[5]^[56].

European Counter-Proposal

European allies submitted their own 28-point counter-proposal with key modifications including raising the military cap to 800,000 troops during peacetime and stronger security guarantees^[9]^[13]^[58].

Timeline

Trump initially demanded Ukraine's response by Thanksgiving (November 27, 2025) but indicated the deadline could be flexible "if things are progressing well"^[83]^[90]. Negotiations continue this week between Presidents Trump and Zelensky on the most sensitive outstanding issues^[88]^[89].

Assessment: Does It Represent Ukraine and NATO Interests?

The original 28-point framework overwhelmingly does not represent Ukraine or NATO interests. Multiple authoritative sources confirm:

Chatham House analysis: "It takes all the Russian official goals of its so-called 'special military operation' and presents it to Kyiv as the American peace plan. It resembles more a demand for capitulation"^[56]

American Progress Center: "The Russian proposal speaks for itself: It demands that Ukraine surrender territory, accept limits on its armed forces, and curb Western support"^[19]

Congressional Ukraine Caucus: The plan "appears to favor the interest of the aggressor over the sovereignty and security of a democratic Ukraine" and "does not offer a genuine path to lasting peace, but instead, demands the surrender and capitulation of Ukraine"^[59]

European Union response: Publicly rejected the plan as "dangerous, destabilizing, and a blueprint that could hand Russia exactly what it wants"^[60]

The process itself violated diplomatic norms by excluding Ukraine and European allies from initial drafting while negotiating directly with a sanctioned Russian official. Senator Mike Rounds reported that Secretary Rubio characterized it as "essentially the wish-list of the Russians"^[69]^[79], though Rubio later attempted to walk back these statements under political pressure^[67]^[68].

The revised 19-point plan reportedly addresses some Ukrainian concerns, but significant issues remain unresolved, particularly regarding territorial integrity and NATO membership^[86]^[88]. Whether this represents genuine progress or simply repackaging Russian demands with softer language remains to be seen as negotiations continue.

References

UkraineRussia

Don Bradford