Donald Trump has sent his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin and finalise the details of a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Trump said both sides have made “tremendous progress” and that only a “few remaining points of disagreement” are left after several rounds of talks.
According to the US president, his original 28-point peace plan has now been adjusted based on what both Russia and Ukraine want.
Ukraine peace deal nears final stage
Ukraine wanted a direct meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump this week, but Trump made it clear he will only meet Zelensky and Putin when the peace deal is final or nearly finished. On Truth Social, Trump wrote that Witkoff had been “directed” to meet Putin in Moscow, while US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll would hold talks with Ukrainian officials at the same time. Speaking from the White House earlier on Tuesday, Trump said, “I think we’re getting very close to the deal, we’ll find out.”
Zelensky told the Coalition of the Willing on Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to move ahead with the US peace “framework.” His team also suggested that he could travel to the US this week to finalise the agreement.
French President Emmanuel Macron, however, warned that Russia still does not seem interested in a ceasefire. According to him, there is “clearly no Russian willingness” to stop the fighting or engage seriously with the more Ukraine-friendly proposal.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told fellow European leaders that peace talks were “moving in a positive direction.” He said the discussions in Geneva helped make sure that the draft plan truly reflects Ukraine’s interests and sets the stage for lasting peace.
Talks move from Geneva to Abu Dhabi
The latest negotiations between the US, Russia and Ukraine have been happening in Abu Dhabi, after an earlier round of discussions in Geneva over the weekend. Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said there were “a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details” left to resolve.
A spokesman for Dan Driscoll said the talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi were “going well.” These discussions also involved Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, who rarely travels outside the country. Meanwhile, according to The Telegraph, Russian officials continue to be wary of the peace plan being proposed by the US, Europe and Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov even suggested that Europe had “blown its chances” of ending the war.