Trump Endorsed 28-Point Russia Plan Despite Internal Rifts

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Michael Carpenter tells Al Arabiya English that rival camps have emerged inside the Trump camp, but the former president personally backed the pro-Russia framework.

By TRH Foreign Affairs Desk

New Delhi, November 28, 2025 — Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Michael Carpenter, has revealed that Washington is far from united on the controversial 28-point framework shaping current US engagement with Russia, despite public perceptions of consensus.

Speaking to Al Arabiya English, Carpenter said it is “clearly not the case” that everyone in the US political establishment is “singing from the same song sheet” on how to deal with Moscow. According to him, sharp rival camps have emerged within the Trump political ecosystem over the future direction of US–Russia policy.

The most significant takeaway, Carpenter stressed, is that Donald Trump personally endorsed the original 28-point plan — a framework reportedly shaped by his special envoy Steve Witkoff in coordination with Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev. “The fact that Trump himself endorsed it is very telling,” Carpenter said, calling it the single most important data point in the debate.

Carpenter added that Witkoff should not be viewed merely as a messenger. He suggested the envoy has been working closely with Jared Kushner, as well as the office of Vice President JD Vance, indicating that parts of Trump’s inner circle supported what he described as a broadly pro-Russia proposal.

However, this support is not universal. Carpenter identified Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent as major skeptics within Washington. Both, he said, favour imposing tougher costs on Russian President Vladimir Putin and pursuing a more hard-edged negotiating strategy. Yet, he noted, they currently appear to be “outliers” compared to the dominant voices shaping policy around Trump.

The revelations underscore deep strategic divisions inside Washington at a time when US–Russia diplomacy is once again under intense global scrutiny. While Trump’s personal endorsement gives the 28-point plan political weight, the internal rift highlights the uncertainty confronting allies and adversaries alike as competing visions for America’s Russia policy continue to clash at the highest levels.

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