US official says Ukrainian delegation has agreed with US on terms of potential peace deal
A U.S. official told ABC News on Tuesday that a Ukrainian delegation has agreed with the United States on the terms of a potential peace deal.
United States Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held secret talks on Monday with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to follow up on this weekend's talks with Ukraine in Geneva that were intended to move the Ukraine peace process forward, a U.S. official told ABC News.
"The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal," the U.S. official said. "There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal."
The previously undisclosed talks with the Russian delegation on Monday follow the talks held in Geneva this past weekend between the U.S. and Ukraine and are the latest indication that the new U.S. initiative to restart the peace process in Ukraine is moving forward.
"Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine," Lt. Col. Jeffrey Tolbert, a U.S. Army spokesman, said on Tuesday. "The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the U.S. interagency as these talks progress."
Neither Ukraine nor Russia have officially confirmed the presence of their delegations being in Abu Dhabi.
A source familiar with the discussions confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine agreed to the new 19-point peace plan during the talks in Geneva, not in Abu Dhabi.
The source added that Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, is currently in Abu Dhabi where he is meeting with American officials and might meet with Russian officials as well.
The U.S. delegation at the talks in Geneva was headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Army Secretary Driscoll.
ABC News has learned that the 28-point peace plan presented by the U.S. to Ukraine in Geneva has been revised to a 19-point peace plan that no longer includes a point on the issue of amnesty regarding acts committed during the war.
Ukraine agreed not to increase the size of its military under the updated plan, two sources briefed on the matter told ABC News. The Ukrainian military is currently about 800,000 people, one source briefed on the matter said.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Monday night that more work needed to be done on the plan that was revised this weekend.
In the wake of this weekend's talks, Russian officials had said that they had not received any updates about what had been discussed in Geneva and what revisions had been made following the talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
At the conclusion of the Geneva talks, Rubio returned to the United States and Driscoll traveled to Abu Dhabi, where on Monday, he met secretly with a Russian delegation to go over the changes made to the 28-point plan discussed in Geneva, according to the official.
Last week, as Driscoll headed into Ukraine for meetings with Ukrainian officials to move the peace process forward, U.S. officials told ABC News that there was a possibility that in the future Driscoll may meet with Russian officials, though it was unclear when that might take place.
The Army secretary's key role in the Trump administration's efforts to restart the peace talk process emerged following a discussion between President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance two weeks ago.
Typically, a secretary for one of the military services would not be involved in such an important diplomatic overture, but it is possible that sending military might be seen favorably by both Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of his trip to Ukraine, Driscoll had discussions with Rubio and Steve Witkoff, who has been the administration's envoy who has worked on peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Stopping in Germany, Driscoll and his delegation participated in additional updates prior to their trip into Ukraine.
Accompanying Driscoll on his trip into Ukraine were Gen. Randy George, the chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Chris Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, and Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, who heads the U.S. military assistance program for Ukraine.
These senior U.S. military officers did not participate in the subsequent talks in Geneva and are not involved in the latest talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that a few "delicate, but not insurmountable" details need to be sorted out between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. ahead of a finalized peace deal.
Trump said on social media Tuesday that in hopes of finalizing the plan, he has directed Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Driscoll to meet with the Ukrainians. He did not say when these meetings will take place.
"I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages," Trump said.
No meeting has been scheduled at this time between Zelenskyy and Trump, a White House official told ABC News earlier on Tuesday.
