Zelensky agrees to negotiate on Trump's peace plan for Ukraine
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Zelensky holds a press briefing in Kyiv. Photo: Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Thursday that he's willing to work with the Trump administration on its new plan for peace in Ukraine, U.S. and Ukrainian officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: The plan calls on Ukraine to make enormous concessions, including handing over territory to Russia that Ukraine currently controls. But rather than reject it outright, Zelensky agreed to negotiate — and his office said he expects to discuss it with President Trump in the coming days.
Driving the news: Driscoll presented Zelensky with a written copy of the plan, according to a Ukrainian official.
- A U.S. official said Zelensky and Driscoll "agreed on an aggressive timeline for signature."
- Zelensky's office said in a statement that the Ukrainian president "outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people, and following today's meeting, the parties agreed to work on the plan's provisions in a way that would bring about a just end to the war."
- Zelensky later tweeted that Ukraine was "ready for constructive, honest and swift work" on Trump's plan to end the war.
- Driscoll's delegation originally planned to travel to Ukraine to discuss military technology and strategy before the White House asked him to help "kickstart negotiations" with Zelensky on behalf of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a second U.S. official said.
Catch up quick: The plan, drafted by Witkoff and other U.S. officials in consultation with the Russians, caused shockwaves in Kyiv and European capitals when Axios revealed its existence on Tuesday.
- A planned meeting between Zelensky and Witkoff had broken down earlier this week after the U.S. side said Zelensky hadn't shown a willingness to engage seriously with the plan.
- But the Ukrainian official told Axios that Zelensky was more conciliatory during his meeting with Driscoll. "The decision is to try to work on it jointly to make peace possible," the official said.
- The Trump administration worked Wednesday and Thursday to try to reassure Ukraine and its European allies that the plan is a "live document" and that their positions will be taken into account, a U.S. official said.
Behind the scenes: Witkoff assured German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in a call on Thursday morning that the new plan was "a framework of ideas" that includes Ukrainian positions and Russian positions, a U.S. official said.
- "Witkoff stressed that the Trump administration is doing the responsible thing and is searching for ways to end the conflict in Ukraine," the U.S. official said.
- According to the official, Witkoff told Wadephul: "If people don't like certain parts of the plan, they should let us know and we will try to find a compromise."
Friction point: The Europeans weren't consulted during the initial drafting of the plan, and the Ukrainians were brought in only after extensive talks between U.S. and Russian envoys.
- The plan includes elements that are seen as highly Moscow-friendly, such as limitations on the size and capabilities of the Ukrainian military after the war, according to a Ukrainian official.
- Ukraine has repeatedly rejected such proposals in the past.
Between the lines: The U.S. push comes with Zelensky under more intense domestic political pressure than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
- A spiraling corruption scandal has ensnared some of Zelensky's close associates, and the opposition is calling on him to clean house or even form a new unity government.
- Zelensky is expected to convene his party's members of parliament this evening, hours after sitting down with Driscoll.
- A U.S. official told Axios the domestic scandal could make Zelensky more willing to make difficult concessions for peace. Some analysts think the opposite — that the uncertainty surrounding his political future means he can't afford to be seen as selling out to Moscow.
The intrigue: Driscoll didn't know until last week that he would be drafted into the role of peace envoy.
- That assignment kicked off a frenzy of activity, a U.S. official said: "As you can imagine, we wipe the calendar, go into full planning and prep mode."
- "He's taking policy briefs. He's taking backgrounds, history of the war, all sorts of things all the way through the weekend, and then they scream out of here," the official said.
- Driscoll and the U.S. military leaders in his delegation will also be meeting with defense industry representatives and Ukrainian military leaders while in Kyiv.
The latest: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing with reporters on Thursday that Witkoff and Rubio had been working on the plan quietly over the last month and had engaged with both sides to understand their positions.
- She stressed that the administration believes the same approach that produced a deal in Gaza could produce one in Ukraine.
- "The president supports this plan. It is a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine and we believe it should be acceptable to both sides and we are working hard to get it done," Leavitt said.
