Trump Treasury Chief Meets Russian Finance Minister to Promote Ukraine Peace Plan, Fox Says
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has held his first face‑to‑face talks with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov about Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, according to U.S. television reports, while Volodymyr Zelensky coordinates separately with Trump envoys and aides in Kyiv warn of a possible new Russian offensive.
A new channel has opened between Washington and Moscow over the future of the war in Ukraine, but it is running through finance ministries rather than foreign offices. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov in person to discuss Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan for Ukraine, U.S. television reports said on Saturday, in what those reports described as their first face‑to‑face encounter.
According to these reports, Bessent used the meeting to promote a 28‑point peace plan put forward by Trump. The talks were said to focus on the proposal and what each side might accept as a basis for further discussion. There has been no announcement of a breakthrough or formal agreement, and there is no public confirmation from either capital of any specific concessions.
At the same time, Ukraine’s leadership is running its own track with Trump’s circle. President Volodymyr Zelensky held what he called a detailed and constructive call with Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He said Ukrainian and U.S. negotiating teams remain in constant contact and are working to set a date for their visit to Ukraine to develop solutions for peace. Zelensky also briefed them on the battlefield, saying Russia’s gains remain limited and come at the cost of enormous losses, according to his account.
Ukrainian officials say their intelligence paints a very different picture of Russia’s intentions. Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Zelensky’s office, was quoted as saying Kyiv’s intelligence indicates President Vladimir Putin is preparing a major escalation of the war. Palisa said Putin has ordered planning for several scenarios for an offensive in northern Ukraine, with Kyiv and Chernihiv among the potential areas of attack. These claims have not been independently verified but frame the peace contacts against the possibility of fresh large‑scale fighting.
For Ukraine, any peace framework discussed between Washington and Moscow would directly affect its territory and security. Russian finance officials must weigh the potential impact on sanctions and energy exports, while U.S. economic policymakers consider how to use financial leverage without fracturing the Western coalition backing Kyiv.
The Bessent–Siluanov meeting also underlines how central economic tools have become to the war’s eventual outcome. Control over frozen Russian assets, energy flows and banking access will shape any settlement, and finance ministries now play a central role in decisions that once sat mainly with diplomats and generals.
Meanwhile, European governments remain divided over how far to go. Belgium recently blocked a push by several EU states to use around €210 billion in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, citing legal risks after a Russian court ordered €220 billion in damages against Euroclear. Other countries, such as India, maintain close ties with Russia while publicly calling for peace.
What happens next will depend on whether Washington or Moscow acknowledge further Bessent–Siluanov contacts, whether Kushner and Witkoff set a firm date to travel to Kyiv, and whether more detail emerges on Trump’s 28‑point plan. Evidence of Russian troop buildups in northern Ukraine that match Kyiv’s intelligence warnings would narrow the room for compromise and increase pressure for faster decisions on any talks.
Sources
- OSINT