Rustem Umierov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said delegations from Kyiv and Washington had “reached a common understanding” on key conditions of an agreement during recent talks in Geneva.
“We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings in Geneva between the Ukrainian and American delegations, as well as President Trump’s unwavering efforts to end the war,” Umierov wrote on X, adding that Ukraine now counted on support from European partners for the next steps.
Umierov, who took part in the Geneva talks, said Ukraine was awaiting a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the United States. “We expect the visit of the president of Ukraine to the U.S. at the earliest possible date in November to finalize the last stages and reach an agreement with President Trump,” he said.
The Trump administration last week presented Zelenskiy with a 28-point peace plan and pressed him to accept it by Thursday. The plan was widely seen as favorable to Russia, though U.S. officials said it could still be amended.
European leaders responded on Sunday with their own draft, introducing changes to the U.S. proposal, including on limiting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, and providing guarantees similar to those in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.
According to earlier reporting, the U.S. plan, drawn up behind closed doors by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, demanded sweeping territorial concessions to Russia, a constitutional pledge that Ukraine would never join NATO and significant cuts to Ukraine’s army.
In his nightly address on Nov. 24, Zelenskiy said the plan had been scaled back from its original 28 points following the Geneva discussions and that the revised version was more in line with Ukraine’s needs. He said more work was required to finalize the agreement, describing the process as “very difficult”.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll traveled to Abu Dhabi on Nov. 24 for negotiations with Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, and a Russian delegation, the Financial Times reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Driscoll and the Russian team began talks on the night of Nov. 24, the report said, without naming the Russian participants. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Nov. 25 that Moscow had no comment on whether such a meeting was taking place.
The Kyiv Independent, which reported the Financial Times account, said it could not verify the talks. It said the alleged Abu Dhabi meeting followed negotiations in Geneva among U.S., Ukrainian and European representatives over the Trump-backed peace plan.
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Source: Polskie Radio 24, The Kyiv Independent