© Getty ImagesSteve Witkoff • Jared Kushner
To satisfy his MAGA movement, President Donald Trump must restore the economic power of his deeply indebted country while appeasing the Atlanticist wing of his donors. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have already reached agreements with President Vladimir Putin. The negotiations chaired by Mario Rubio are merely a diversion.
To satisfy his MAGA movement, President Donald Trump must restore the economic power of his deeply indebted country while appeasing the Atlanticist wing of his donors. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have already reached agreements with President Vladimir Putin. The negotiations chaired by Mario Rubio are merely a diversion.
To understand the week of peace negotiations in Ukraine, it is essential to first dispel the false information that has been disseminated by the mainstream press: contrary to what they have suggested, the Europeans were never allowed to join the Geneva talks.
It is also worth remembering what I explained last week [1]: European governments have no interest in peace, they even fear it: it would undoubtedly cause their own downfall.
It is therefore no coincidence that the German, British, and French press claimed that the Geneva peace plan was a European document. They asserted this so strongly that we ourselves repeated this falsehood before correcting it.
With that established, let's resume the sequence of events:
When the peace plan, drawn up by the United States and Russia in Florida, became known [2], the subservient commentators described it as "outrageously pro-Russian".
The Geneva negotiations
The Ukrainians requested to draft a counter-proposal with the United States. Talks were held in Geneva on November 23 and 24.
But on November 22, EU leaders, along with the British, Norwegians, and Japanese, all attending the G20 summit of heads of state and government in Johannesburg, issued a joint statement. It read:
"We are ready to commit to ensuring that future peace is lasting. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned about the proposed restrictions on the Ukrainian armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.Germany, France, and the United Kingdom therefore sent diplomats — uninvited — to the Intercontinental Hotel where the American and Ukrainian delegations were staying. They were able to speak with both sides, but were not allowed to participate in the negotiations.
"We reiterate that the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and those relating to NATO would require the consent of the respective EU and NATO members."
The document, released at the end of the talks, only includes the arguments of the Ukrainians [3].
There is no longer any mention of the denazification of Ukraine, nor of the country's neutrality, nor of EU participation in its reconstruction. It is therefore unacceptable from a Russian point of view.
Presenting his work to the press, State Secretary Marco Rubio simply stated that things were progressing very well. This is probably because Ukraine had renounced the reconquest of territories occupied/liberated by Russia and accepted their international recognition as Russian.
The "Coalition of the Willing"
On November 25, the coalition of volunteers, called for on March 1, 2025, by General Petr Pavel, Czech president and former chairman of the NATO military committee, and by Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister, met by video conference.
The term "coalition of the willing" refers to President George Bush and his 2002 National Security Strategy. At the time, the aim was to bring together the allies (excluding Jacques Chirac's France and Gerhard Schröder's Germany) to invade Iraq. This coalition claimed to represent international law. To this end, the United Kingdom officially disseminated a great deal of fake news, which was later investigated by the Commission of Sir John Chilcot.
The United Kingdom had similarly published a large amount of fake news, secretly conducting drone flights over Belgian, Danish, Estonian, Norwegian, Polish, and Romanian airports. It had offered its own experts to the bewildered smaller nations and provided them with its answers [4]. It had thus persuaded them that Russia was preparing to attack the European Union.
Let us recall that at the NATO summit in Wales (2014), the United Kingdom created a mini-NATO within NATO — the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). It comprised Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden, under British command. This mini-NATO deployed Operation Nordic Warden when damage was reported to the Estlink 2 undersea cable in the Baltic Sea. Not only did the member states forget that it was the Ukrainians and/or the Americans who had sabotaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines, but they also believed that the damage to these cables might have been caused by the Russians. On November 5, 2025, the United Kingdom associated Ukraine with this Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), even though it is not a member of NATO.
The meeting of the "Coalition of the Will" on November 25 was co-chaired by Emmanuel Macron (President of France), Keir Starmer (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), and Friedrich Merz (Federal Chancellor of Germany). It is worth noting that while 38 states, NATO, and the EU participated, George Soros was represented by Radmila Šekerinska, Deputy Secretary General of NATO.
President Macron outlined the approach, stating that all participants should remain "united to support a just, dignified, and lasting peace for Ukraine that would preserve its sovereignty and ensure its long-term security."
Prime Minister Starmer emphasized the need for reliable security guarantees and the strengthening of Ukraine's air defenses. London, unwilling to engage in a confrontation with Russia, hopes to isolate it behind an "iron curtain," as Winston Churchill did in his Fulton speech.
Finally, Chancellor Merz welcomed the common position of the United States, Ukraine, and the European Union and stressed that negotiations with Russia were now necessary.
The volunteers listened to an account of the Geneva negotiations in which only the United States had participated.
Wiretapping
On November 25, the business news agency Bloomberg published a transcript of a phone conversation, secretly recorded on October 14, between Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy, and Yuri Ushakov, the former Russian ambassador to Washington who had become Vladimir Putin's diplomatic advisor. The Democratic-leaning news agency also published a transcript of another conversation, this time from October 29, between Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy who represented him during the negotiations in Florida [5]. Kirill Dmitriev immediately called this second recording "fake."
The first call was a suggestion from Witkoff that President Putin should propose a 20-point plan modeled on President Trump's plan for Gaza.These two conversations, intercepted by an intelligence service, were used to create the impression that the Florida plan had been drafted solely by Russia. However, anyone familiar with how such negotiations are conducted would be astonished. They in no way suggest that Witkoff was a Russian spy, but only that he was doing his job.
The second implied that Russia had played a major role in the Florida peace plan.
One only needs to read the plan to see that it provides for Russia to spend $100 billion to rebuild Ukraine and that it does not recognize the Odessa oblast as Russian — although this would have allowed Transnistria's request to leave Moldova and join the Russian Federation to be accepted.
According to the Wall Street Journal, these wiretaps not only provide a distorted view of the negotiations, but they also miss the essential point. On August 7, Steve Witkoff reportedly informed the "Coalition of the Willing" that President Putin was prepared to relinquish Kherson and Zaporizhzhia if Ukraine recognized the annexation of all of Donbas (including the tiny portion still under Ukrainian control). Skeptical, the Europeans reportedly rejected these overtures, convinced that Russia intended to conquer all of Ukraine and then attack the European Union [6] .
No one knows which intelligence service carried out these wiretaps, more than a month before their publication, but our eyes spontaneously turn to the banks of the Thames. During a visit to Kyrgyzstan, President Vladimir Putin reminded everyone that, in his country, listening to telephone conversations is a criminal offense [7].
Belgium's refusal to steal the blocked Russian money
On November 27, Bart de Wever, the Belgian Prime Minister, and the clearing house Clearstream wrote two letters to the European Commission. They informed it of their firm opposition to the confiscation of $215 billion of frozen Russian deposits [8].
Almost all experts believe that converting these frozen assets into "repair loans" would amount to seizure. Only British experts claim that equating this to theft is "nonsense."
It is true that, according to a study by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), with the refugee migration it would cause, a defeat of Ukraine would be twice as costly for the European Union as continuing the current situation [9].
If nothing changes, Ukraine will default on its debt by the end of June at the latest.
The fall of the Ukrainian presidential administration
On November 28, while the White House was inviting Volodymyr Zelensky to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) — assisted by 80 U.S. inspectors provided by the State Department — searched the home of Andriy Yermak, the all-powerful head of the presidential administration. Although the press had reported a search of Yermak's offices, it was his home that investigators ransacked from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. They seized a large number of cell phones.
The defendant immediately resigned, thus avoiding censure by the Verkhovna Rada. He announced his decision in a letter to the New York Post [10]. In it, he wrote:
"I have been defiled, and my dignity has not been protected, even though I have been in Kyiv since February 24, 2022. Therefore, I do not want to create problems for Zelensky; I am going to the front lines (...) I am disgusted by the filth directed at me, and even more disgusted by the lack of support from those who know the truth."Thus, on the one hand Marco Rubio was discussing with Andriy Yermak in Geneva four days earlier, on the other hand, investigators from his state secretariat were eliminating Andriy Yermak from political life.
Taking advantage of the war and Volodymyr Zelensky's bipolar policies, Andriy Yermak, who was only the second-highest-ranking civilian official, had become the most powerful man in the country. According to NABU investigators, he was the one the corrupt officials called "Ali Baba," the man who coordinated all the bribes and embezzlement. While he is implicated in the theft of around one hundred million euros from energy contracts, he is believed to have actually stolen billions of euros from arms deals.
Following many others, Yuriy Kamelchuk, a member of Zelenski's party, is also believed to be on the run.
Simultaneously, on November 28, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister and a personal friend of both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, visited the Kremlin, officially to discuss his country's supply of Russian hydrocarbons, unofficially to continue contacts between Washington and Moscow. He was accompanied by Marcel Biro, his National Security Advisor, while President Putin was accompanied by Yury Ushakov, his diplomatic advisor, whose conversation with Steve Witkoff had been intercepted [11] .
Prime Minister Orbán's trip to Moscow violated "European Union solidarity" but was in line with the special privilege granted to him by President Donald Trump to negotiate his country's hydrocarbon supply.
Back to Florida
According to a decree issued by the unelected president, the Ukrainian delegation to participate in peace talks in Florida comprises nine people, including the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov (who is currently a fugitive), the head of Military Intelligence, General Kirill Budanov, the Deputy Chief of the SBU, General Oleksandr Poklad, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the staunch nationalist General Andriy Hnatov. It is not impossible, however, that Andriy Yermak will be part of the delegation, despite having resigned.
Rustem Umarov, former head of the Ukrainian sovereign wealth fund, came to the United States just before the Florida negotiations. He met with FBI Director Kash Patel. Umarov is likely a CIA operative who served under Knesset Member Mustafa Abdülcemil Cemiloğlu (alias Mustafa Dzhemilev) [12]. He probably made a deal with the US justice system. He was the one who assured Steve Witkoff that Zelensky would accept the Florida plan. The fact that he is leading the Ukrainian delegation this weekend, despite having already fled, seems to indicate that Washington holds all the cards.
Final warm-up lap
At the time of writing, nothing has leaked from the Washington meeting. However, on November 30, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, telephoned Volodymyr Zelensky. She assured him that Ukraine must stand firm, despite the bombing of its energy facilities by the Russian army.
Then Mark Rutte, NATO's Secretary General, also called him. He seemed less enthusiastic and cautious about US support.
Finally, French President Emmanuel Macron invited his unelected counterpart to visit him in Paris the following day, December 1st. He could only maintain the illusion. On November 17th, he had indeed pompously signed documents for the sale of 100 Rafale fighter jets, SAMP/T air defense systems, modern air defense radars, air-to-air missiles, and guided bombs to Ukraine. In reality, these were not contracts, but "declarations of intent." The financing for these extravagant sales was not guaranteed, and their manufacture by Dassault Aviation could not begin for another five to ten years.
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be at the Kremlin.
References:
[ 1 ] " The fall of the Zelensky regime and that of its allies ", by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network , November 25, 2025.
[ 2 ] " Trump's peace plan for Ukraine ", Voltaire Network , November 20, 2025.
[ 3 ] " Ukrainian Plan for Peace ", Voltaire Network , November 24, 2025.
[ 4 ] " "Het is gissen waarom we niet werden opgeroepen": gespecialiseerd counter-droneteam werd niet ingezet bij drones boven Zaventem vorige week ", Dirk Coosemans, Het Nieuwsblad, November 10, 2025.
[ 5 ] " Putin advisers discuss plans for dealing with Trump: Transcript ", Bloomberg , November 25, 2025. French version of the first listening: " The entire conversation between Steve Witkoff, special envoy of Donald Trump, and Yuri Ushakov, diplomatic advisor to Vladimir Putin, revealed by Bloomberg ", Le Monde , November 26, 2025.
[ 6 ] " Make Money Not War: Trump's Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine ", Drew Hinshaw, Benoit Faucon, Rebecca Ballhaus, Thomas Grove and Joe Parkinson, The Wall Street Journal , December 1, 2025.
[ 7 ] " US peace plan, special military operation, contacts in UAE: what Putin said ", Tass , November 27, 2025.
[ 8 ] " Belgian PM raises stakes on Kyiv lifeline, renewing opposition to Russian frozen-assets reparations loan ", Luca Léry Moffat, Kiyv Independent, November 28, 2025.
[ 9 ] To script for krigen i Ukraine: Hva betyr de for Europa - og hva vil det koste? or English version: Europe's choice: Military and economic scenarios for the War in Ukraine , Erlend Bjørtvedt, Karsten Friis, Trygve Johannes Smidt, John Karlsrud, Olav Slettebø, Ole Martin Stormoen and Casper Waagbø, Corisk & Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, November 28, 2025.
[ 10 ] " Former top Zelensky aide sends The Post ominous message hours after resignation: 'I'm going to the front' ", Caitlin Doornbos, New York Post , November 28, 2025.
[ 11 ] Кремль, 28 ноября 2025 года.
[ 12 ] " Ukraine and Turkey create an international Islamic Brigade against Russia ", by Thierry Meyssan, Syrian National Television, Voltaire Network , August 12, 2015.
Context.