The Financial Times reported that according to the plan, Ukraine will introduce Russian as an official language and recognize the Russian Orthodox Church in the country.
Qatar and Türkiye are also said to be involved in developing the peace plan, but Ukraine as an affected party is not. An interlocutor familiar with the process told the portal: “Mediating between Qatar and Türkiye helps end the war in Gaza and could also play a role in the Ukraine war.”
A senior Qatari official took part in a conversation last weekend between Trump mediator Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian security adviser Rustem Umerov. A Ukrainian government official confirmed the meeting, according to Axios. Written documents are not submitted. Moreover, Ukrainian negotiators did not accept the plan. Kyiv rejected many of the proposed points. Before meeting with Umerov, Witkoff had held intensive discussions with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
According to Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU), Germany is not aware of any alleged secret talks between the US and Russia regarding the Ukraine peace plan. Germany was “not briefed” on the 28-point plan reported in US media, Wadephul told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday. He referred to “the ongoing efforts of all international partners to finally ensure that President Putin is present at the negotiating table,” Wadephul said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the US, a planned tripartite summit in Ankara between Zelensky, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US envoy Witkoff was postponed after Zelensky distanced himself from previous talks. A US official said Zelensky instead presented an alternative peace document to European partners that Russia would not accept.
But Ukrainian sources cited Zelensky’s desire to hold talks in an expanded format including European countries as the reason for the delay. Other US officials pointed to the domestic political crisis in Ukraine centered on corruption investigations into Zelensky’s confidants.
The US side emphasized to Axios that Trump had expressly authorized Witkoff to reach an agreement with Zelensky in Türkiye. The decision to cancel the meeting was taken based on an agreement with Trump. A top US official concluded: “We now wait. The decision is in Zelensky’s hands.”
