According to Reuters, on the evening of November 25, Bloomberg exposed secret phone conversations between U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs, Witekoff, and Russian Presidential Assistant Ushakov in its report. On the evening of November 26, Russia responded by stating that leaking the related phone recordings was "unacceptable," aiming to disrupt peace negotiations in Ukraine and constituted a "hybrid war" tactic.
Bloomberg reported that on October 14, Witekoff had called Ushakov and proposed cooperation in developing a peace plan for Ukraine, suggesting that Russian President Putin directly present this idea to Trump. The recording showed that Witekoff also instructed Ushakov, telling him that praising Trump would help advance the conversation about the war in Ukraine.
Bloomberg believes that this call is the origin of the U.S.-Russia "28-point Peace Plan," as the recording shows that the two discussed territorial concessions, implying that Ukraine should give up the entire Donetsk region. Bloomberg claims to have reviewed the recording but did not explain the method of obtaining the recording.
The left to right are Ushakov, Demidtsev, and Witekoff. Russian media
On the evening of November 26, Ushakov told Russian media that the content of his call with Witekoff was not intended to be made public, and the leakage of the recording was an improper act. He emphasized that leaking the recording was clearly aimed at hindering U.S.-Russia dialogue, "This is unacceptable."
Ushakov pointed out that some of his meetings were conducted through government encrypted channels, which are rarely intercepted or leaked, unless one party deliberately does so. He mentioned, "Some conversations on WhatsApp may be monitored in some way."
Ushakov ruled out the possibility of the participants leaking the recording and stated that he would raise the issue with Witekoff.
Another recorded call obtained by Bloomberg showed that on October 29, Russian Presidential Representative Demidtsev had a phone call with Ushakov in Russian, discussing how Russia should firmly present its demands in the peace proposal.
On the evening of November 26, Demidtsev responded by stating that Bloomberg's report on the call was "false information." Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said that some media are being used by European countries as tools for "hybrid information warfare" against Russia, with the purpose of undermining U.S.-Russia relations.
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