The United States appears willing to recognize Russian control of Crimea and other occupied Ukrainian territories in order to secure a deal to end the war.
According to the Telegraph, Donald Trump will send special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to present the offer to Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The proposal to recognize Russia's sovereignty is expected to move forward despite concerns from Ukraine's European allies. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, "it is becoming increasingly clear that the Americans are not interested in the European position."
"They say the Europeans can do whatever they want," says the Telegraph's source.
Meanwhile, the Russian President said on Thursday that the legal recognition of Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the US as Russian territory would be one of the main issues in negotiations on the US president's peace plan.
On Friday, the Kremlin announced it had adopted a revised strategy for ending the war, drawn up after emergency talks between Ukrainian and American officials in Geneva last week. The original 28-point peace plan, which Witkof had drafted after discussions with Russian officials, included the US's "de facto" recognition of Crimea and the two eastern regions of Donbas.
The strategy also proposed "de facto" recognition of Russian-held territories behind the contact line in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine, following any ceasefire agreement.