Timothy Nerozzi

Washington Examiner

President Donald Trump is simultaneously dispatching some of his highest-ranking surrogates for what is hoped to be the final stages of ongoing peace negotiations with Ukraine and Russia.

Trump revealed his next moves in a post to Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon, noting that the “original 28-Point Peace Plan … has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement.”

“In the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians,” Trump explained in the post.

“I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,” Trump continued.

Trump said he looks forward to “hopefully” meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon” but noted it would only happen if “the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”

“Let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” he concluded.

The foundation of the current negotiations was laid by Rubio and Witkoff over the course of approximately a month, according to the White House.

Driscoll, who previously had not engaged directly with Russia-Ukraine diplomacy, has been brought into the fold as a Trump surrogate for Kyiv. He flew from Geneva to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday to meet with the Russian delegation.

Trump is eager to close the long-awaited peace deal regardless of the details, with White House officials saying an end to hostilities is more important than any particular concession between Ukraine and Russia.

The Coalition of the Willing, an international alliance consisting mostly of European and Commonwealth powers that seek to militarily aid Ukraine in its war, has been almost entirely cut out of the negotiations.

Alliance member states held an international phone call on Tuesday afternoon to discuss their strategy for securing Ukraine if a peace deal is signed.

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that troops from France, the United Kingdom, or Turkey could be in Ukraine on “the day the peace is signed.”