President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war closely mirrors the tactics he used to end two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas: bold terms, deadlines for the combatants, and flexible outlines for what comes next.
“You know what the deadline is to me? When it’s over.” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday.
The formula has worked so far in the tense Middle East. Trump got his moment to claim credit for “peace” in the region from the podium of the Israeli parliament. Even there, he made clear that next on his priority list was resolving the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
“Maybe we set out like a 20-point peace proposal, just like we did in Gaza,” U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff told Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser in a phone call the day after Trump’s speech, on Oct. 14. A recording of that call leaked to Bloomberg News.
They did just that, issuing a 28-point plan tilted toward Russia’s interests that set off alarms in Europe. Trump insisted Ukraine had until Nov. 27 — Thanksgiving in the U.S. — to accept it.
But by Tuesday, Trump had eased off the hard deadline after negotiations.
Putin launched waves of bombings on Ukraine Tuesday and Wednesday even as American negotiators renewed Trump’s push to end the war.
“I thought (a Russia-Ukraine deal) would have been an easier one, but I think we’re making progress,” Trump said during the annual White House turkey pardon to mark the Thanksgiving holiday. Hours later, he told reporters that the 28-point proposal “was not a plan, just a concept” to get the negotiations started.
Trump’s approach toward peace bears similarities to the tactics and style he used in the Israel-Gaza talks
Fresh off the Gaza deal and coveting the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump named his next priority before he’d even left the Israeli Knesset.
“If you don’t mind, Steve, let’s focus on Russia first, All right?” Trump said, turning to Witkoff.
Where the Gaza ceasefire agreement had 20 points, the Russia-Ukraine proposal would start with 28 items and include more detail on who would pay for reconstruction.
The Trump plan for Gaza leans to Israeli terms. It makes disarming Hamas a central condition for any progress in rebuilding the devastated territory. It also lays out no strict timetable for a full Israeli troop withdrawal, making it conditional on deployment of an international security force.
For Russia and Ukraine, Witkoff looked to open peace plan talks with terms to bring Russia to the table. He quietly hosted Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Putin’s, for talks in south Florida to help launch the plan that opened talks in Geneva, according to a senior administration official and a U.S. official familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The White House insists that the plan was U.S.-authored with input from both the Ukrainians and Russians.
But that’s where the similarities end. The differences are buy-in — and Putin
The draft that was formally presented to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially favored the Russians, with no European input. In contrast, the Gaza ceasefire talks got buy-in from Egypt, Qatari, Jordanian, Saudi and other regional powers.
The draft has narrowed since it was first presented to meet Ukrainian needed, and Trump is sending his envoys on a bit of shuttle diplomacy to “sell it,” as he said. He said Witkoff will visit Moscow next week — perhaps joined by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was also involved in the Gaza plan. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will meet with the Ukranians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resisted Trump’s pressure to agree to a ceasefire, for a time. But Putin refuses to concede anything on Ukraine.
He’s appeared to be considering the matter, notably when Trump rolled out a red carpet for the Russian leader at a summer summit in Alaska — an old front line of the Cold War. Trump left that meeting without an agreement from Putin to end the bloodshed.
To the horror of Ukraine and the vexation of Trump, Putin has stood firm.
Putin, the official noted, has long grumbled that the West doesn’t respect Russia’s position in the global world order. The official added that the Trump White House in its approach is not affirming Putin’s position but trying to reflect the Russian perspective is given its due in the emerging peace plan.
It’s not for the administration to judge Putin’s positions, the official said, but it does have “to understand them if we want to get to a deal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article