Kremlin says leaked Witkoff call is attempt to disrupt Ukraine peace talks

The Kremlin said Wednesday that the leak of a phone call between senior U.S. and Russian officials was intended to disrupt peace talks, and warned it was premature to say that a deal to end its war in Ukraine was close

The Kremlin said Wednesday that the leak of a phone call between senior U.S. and Russian officials was intended to disrupt peace talks, and warned it was premature to say that a deal to end its war in Ukraine was close.

President Donald Trump, whose envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Moscow next week, said that his peace plan had been "fine-tuned" and that he had no deadline for an agreement after earlier pressuring Kyiv to endorse a proposal by Thanksgiving.

Kyiv and its allies indicated they were broadly happy with changes to the plan, though key sticking points remained. As attention shifted to Russia, which has held to its maximalist demands, the leak added to questions about the Kremlin's role in negotiations.

Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested the leak of his conversation with Witkoff was an attempt to interfere in the peace talks. “It is unlikely that this is done to improve relations,” he said.

Zelenskyy ready to meet with Trump to discuss Ukraine peace plan01:30Witkoff advised his Russian counterpart on how to best appeal to Trump about a peace plan and suggested setting up a call with Putin prior to a White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a transcript of the Oct. 14 call published by Bloomberg News. Bloomberg said it had reviewed a recording of the call but did not say how it obtained access to it.