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ABOARD Air Force One en route to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday that U.S. negotiators were making progress with Moscow and Kyiv, and that Russia had agreed to certain concessions, though he did not provide details.
Reuters reported today that Trump said the U.S.-backed peace framework, first reported last week, remained under discussion and that he now preferred a flexible timeline.
“The deadline for me is when it's over,” he remarked, effectively abandoning a previously set target of Thursday for Ukraine to sign the agreement.
The president confirmed that his envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Moscow next week to meet President Vladimir Putin, while his son-in-law, Jared Kushner—who played a role in negotiating the Gaza ceasefire—would also be involved.
Bloomberg News had reported that Witkoff, in a 14 October call with Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, advised Moscow on how to present a ceasefire plan to Trump, including suggestions for a Trump-Putin phone call prior to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s White House visit.
Asked about the report, Trump said he had not heard the recording on which Bloomberg based its story but was unsurprised, noting: “That's what a dealmaker does. You know, that's a very standard form of negotiation. I would imagine he's saying the same thing to Ukraine.”
Trump also offered a stark assessment of the battlefield, suggesting Russia held the upper hand in the ongoing war and warning that parts of Ukraine might fall to Russian control in the coming months.
“It would be in Ukraine’s best interests to reach an agreement,” he said, emphasising that European partners were engaged in negotiating security guarantees for Kyiv.
He characterised recent discussions in Geneva as yielding positive outcomes, adding: “Now we have a good result from Geneva and from the meetings and talks that took place there. Ukraine has the framework.”
The president’s remarks signal a recalibration of U.S. expectations for a swift resolution in Ukraine, while raising questions about the balance of influence between Moscow and Kyiv in the proposed peace arrangement. - November 26, 2025