The United States is preparing to resolve all outstanding territorial issues with Ukraine in advance of high-level negotiations in Moscow, Axios reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the talks.
According to the publication, the Trump administration aims to present an updated settlement proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 2.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Representative Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushnir are participating in the negotiations on the US side,” Axios stated.
The initiative appears to centre on a potential territorial compromise that would see Washington and Moscow effectively agree to a division of Ukraine, with the United States offering recognition of Crimea and the Donbas region as Russian territory in exchange for a broader ceasefire or political settlement.
“Russia could divide Ukraine with the US,” Axios reported. “This would look like both a victory for the US and a victory for Russia, provided all of Russia’s demands are met.”
The talks come after a frenzied week of negotiations that kicked off with the US sponsored 28-point peace plan (28PPP) that was billed as a “Russian wish list” or demands. Subsequent talks have produced at least five other versions, including a cut down 19-point peace plan (19PPP) thrashed out in Geneva, an EU 24-point peace plan (24PPP), and a European Parliament Resolution (EPR) on November 27 that will almost certainly be rejected out of hand by the Kremlin.
Trump himself has also reduced the number of items on his list to 22 points, but he also ordered on November 27 that further US versions of the plan will be classified and not shared with Ukraine or the European partners. The fear is that Trump will agree a deal with Putin next week and present it as a fait accompli to Kyiv. The Washington meeting is probably the last chance for Zelenskiy to present his case to the Trump administration before that key meeting with Putin.
The Trump administration’s suggested prospect of the United States unilaterally endorsing Russia’s territorial claims—without the full consent of the Ukrainian government—would represent a dramatic shift in Western policy. The EU version of the peace plan all rejected the recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over the five occupied Ukrainian regions out of hand.
Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the United States and its allies have consistently rejected any recognition of Russian control over occupied Ukrainian regions.
If confirmed, the plan could mark the first formal indication that Washington is considering a negotiated settlement based on territorial concessions. It would also be the most significant reconfiguration of US diplomacy on Ukraine since the war began.
Trump remains reluctant to cross Putin as he has made it clear from the start that he wants to do business with Russia. This was confirmed by a controversial article by the Wall Street Journal entitled: “Make money, not war” that details some of the business deals that have been discussed in secret by the Kremlin and Washington and are sketched out in the original US 28-point plan.
Ukrainian officials have not commented publicly on the talks. Kyiv has repeatedly stated that no peace agreement is acceptable unless it includes the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including Crimea and all parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Putin doubled down on the question of territory on November 29 saying that Russia will take by force the regions if Kyiv does not willingly give up the Donbas.
The Kremlin has long insisted that any resolution to the war must begin with Western recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over the annexed territories, although recently in an apparent compromise, the Kremlin has suggested that recognition can be de facto not de jure. Putin has also demanded legal guarantees that Ukraine will remain outside Nato.
