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Moscow/Geneva, November 28, 2025 – In a development that has injected cautious optimism into the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin announced on Friday that the United States has formally transmitted the core parameters of a revised peace proposal to Moscow, following intensive talks between Washington and Kyiv in Geneva over the weekend. The disclosure, made by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a daily press briefing, marks the first official acknowledgment from Russia of receiving details of the U.S.-backed framework, which aims to halt nearly four years of devastating warfare that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions across Europe.
“The main parameters have been communicated to us,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow, his tone measured yet revealing a rare willingness to engage. “And there will be a discussion in Moscow next week.” He confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, real estate developer and longtime Trump associate Steve Witkoff, is slated to visit the Russian capital for direct negotiations with senior Kremlin officials, including potentially President Vladimir Putin. “The exact date will be provided in a timely manner,” Peskov added, emphasizing Moscow's desire not to “get ahead of ourselves” by prematurely airing the plan's specifics in public.
The announcement comes just days after U.S. and Ukrainian delegations convened in Geneva on November 23 and 24 for closed-door sessions described by both sides as “highly productive.” Those talks, hosted at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Switzerland, centered on refining an initial 28-point draft proposal leaked earlier in November, which drew sharp criticism for appearing to echo Russian demands too closely. The original document, reportedly co-drafted in part during informal meetings between Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Russian sovereign wealth fund head Kirill Dmitriev in Miami last month, called for Ukraine to cede full control of the Donbas region—including cities like Slovyansk and Kramatorsk still held by Kyiv—to Russia, alongside a 50% reduction in Ukraine's military size and de facto U.S. recognition of Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
Ukrainian officials, led by Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, arrived in Geneva amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to endorse the plan by Thanksgiving. European allies, including representatives from Germany, France, Poland, and the UK, joined the discussions to safeguard Kyiv's sovereignty and push for robust security guarantees. The sessions nearly derailed before starting, with Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya later describing them as “intense.” By Sunday's close, however, a joint U.S.-Ukraine statement hailed the emergence of a “refined peace framework,” trimmed to 19 points and incorporating Kyiv's “red lines” on territorial integrity and NATO aspirations.
Key revisions removed explicit caps on Ukraine's armed forces and amnesties for war crimes, while “bracketing” contentious issues like NATO membership and EU accession for direct presidential-level resolution between Zelenskyy and Trump. The framework now emphasizes U.S.-led security guarantees—potentially including troop deployments or multilateral pacts—to deter future Russian aggression, alongside economic reconstruction aid funneled through international bodies. Zelenskyy, addressing the nation via video on Monday, struck a pragmatic note: “After Geneva, there are fewer points—no longer 28—and many correct elements have been incorporated. But much work lies ahead.” He added that sensitive territorial questions would be hashed out in a forthcoming White House meeting, signaling Kyiv's readiness to compromise without capitulation.
The Geneva parley unfolded against a backdrop of battlefield stalemate and diplomatic maneuvering. Russian forces, bolstered by North Korean munitions and Iranian drones, have inched forward in Donetsk but at enormous cost, with estimates from the Ukrainian General Staff pegging Moscow's casualties at over 700,000 since the February 2022 invasion. Ukraine, meanwhile, grapples with ammunition shortages and a harsh winter, exacerbated by delayed Western aid. Trump's aggressive timeline—initially demanding a deal by November 27—stemmed from his August summit with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, where the two leaders reportedly sketched early outlines but yielded no breakthroughs. Critics in Europe, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, decried the original draft as a “Kremlin wish list,” fearing it undermined NATO unity. Yet Merz praised Geneva as an “interim result,” noting modifications that aligned with European priorities.
Witkoff's impending Moscow trip adds intrigue, shadowed by a leaked October 14 phone transcript published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, in which the envoy coached Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, on flattering Trump as a “man of peace” to advance a 20-point precursor to the current plan. Witkoff suggested Putin congratulate Trump on the Gaza ceasefire—brokered earlier this year—and float land swaps, including Donetsk, as deal sweeteners. The White House dismissed the leak as “standard negotiation,” with Trump quipping aboard Air Force One that Witkoff was simply “selling” the U.S. vision to both sides. Kremlin spokesman Peskov echoed this, calling the disclosure an attempt to “disrupt” talks, though Ushakov confirmed frequent, confidential chats with Witkoff.
Putin himself broke silence on Thursday during a Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, stating the Geneva version “can form the basis for future agreements,” though he insisted on addressing “new territorial realities” like Russian-held swaths of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. “In general, we agree,” Putin said, but warned against European troop presences post-war as “out of the question.” This tempered endorsement contrasts with Moscow's prior maximalism, hinting at flexibility amid economic strains from sanctions—Russia's shadow oil fleet alone shipped 11 million tonnes worth $5.4 billion in the first nine months of 2025.
Reactions worldwide underscore the high stakes. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed Geneva as “reinvigorating diplomacy,” but urged vigilance on Russia's compliance. In Kyiv, anti-corruption raids on Zelenskyy aides amid a burgeoning scandal have fueled domestic unrest, with Yermak vowing on X to sustain momentum: “Peace must become a shared achievement.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mediating via phone with Putin on Monday, positioned Ankara as a neutral broker for Black Sea navigation rights—a sticking point in the framework.
As Witkoff's delegation prepares for Moscow—potentially including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll—the world watches a fragile pivot. The refined plan's success hinges on balancing Ukraine's unyielding sovereignty claims against Russia's territorial ambitions, all while averting escalation. Trump, posting on Truth Social, teased: “Big progress? Don’t believe it until you see it—but something good just may be happening.” With winter deepening and frontlines frozen, the coming week could redefine Europe's security architecture—or entrench divisions anew.
Yet challenges loom large. Analysts warn of Moscow's “delay and obfuscation” tactics, echoing past Minsk accords' failures. France's push for voluntary military service amid Russian threat perceptions signals broader continental anxiety. Economically, Ukraine's reconstruction—estimated at $500 billion by the World Bank—demands ironclad funding mechanisms, while Russia's fossil fuel pivot sustains its war chest despite G7 price caps.
Peskov's Friday remarks, delivered amid swirling media frenzy, underscore the opacity shrouding these talks. “It's impossible to comment on every report,” he said earlier in the week, but Friday's update confirms transmission via “unofficial channels” refined post-Geneva. As delegations converge, the onus falls on Trump and Putin to transcend rhetoric. For war-weary Ukrainians, from bombed-out Zaporizhzhia streets to Kyiv's resilient cafes, the Geneva echo offers faint hope: diplomacy, however imperfect, may yet silence the guns.
