A U.S. official told CBS News on Tuesday that Ukraine’s government had “agreed to a peace deal” brokered by the Trump administration to stop Russia’s nearly four-year assault. The American official and Ukraine’s national security adviser Rustem Umerov said a common understanding on a proposal had been reached, with details still to be worked out.
Umerov voiced optimism that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could travel to Washington before the end of November to finalize an agreement. CBS News was first to report on Sunday that U.S. and Ukrainian officials had previously discussed a potential visit to the U.S. this week by Zelenskyy.
“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” the U.S. official told CBS News. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.”
The news came as U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials, two U.S. officials and two diplomatic sources who were not authorized to speak publicly told CBS News. A fifth source with knowledge of the talks also confirmed Driscoll’s presence in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
There was no immediate reaction from Russia, the invading force, to what was agreed to in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking during a press briefing earlier on Tuesday, veteran Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that while Russia “appreciates the U.S.’ position, which is taking the initiative in resolving the Ukrainian conflict,” Moscow “operates professionally, not leaking information before formal agreements are reached … Russia expects the U.S. to inform it of the results of consultations with Ukraine and Europe in the near future.”
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A U.S. military official in Abu Dhabi told CBS News Driscoll spent hours negotiating Tuesday with Russian representatives, going in and out of meetings all day.
“We remain very optimistic,” the official said. “Secretary Driscoll is optimistic. Hopefully, we’ll get feedback from the Russians soon. This is moving quick.”
It is not clear who else is in the U.S. delegation in Abu Dhabi. A U.S. official told CBS News on Tuesday that a Ukrainian delegation was also there and has been in contact with Driscoll and his team.
Umerov said in a social media post on Tuesday that the country’s negotiators had “reached a common understanding on the core terms” of an agreement discussed among U.S., European and Ukrainian officials in Geneva over the weekend.
The apparent progress in Abu Dhabi comes amid an intensified push by President Trump to secure a ceasefire in the almost four-year-long Russia-Ukraine war.
“We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps. We look forward to organizing a visit of Ukraine’s President to the U.S. at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump,” Umerov said in his Tuesday post on X.
A source with knowledge told CBS News that Driscoll was working in Abu Dhabi off of a revised version of the White House’s 28-point proposal, following productive negotiations in Geneva.
Over the weekend, Driscoll, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and diplomats from Ukraine and European allies attended talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Driscoll’s meeting with Russian officials also follows a visit to Ukraine’s capital last week.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials had previously discussed a potential visit to the U.S. this week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, CBS News reported on Sunday.
Last week, CBS News obtained a draft of one Trump administration-backed proposal to end the war. The proposed plan included several provisions that Zelenskyy has rejected in the past, such as a requirement that Ukraine give up its entire Donetsk region — including parts that aren’t occupied by Russia — and an end to the country’s push to join NATO.
There is also an accompanying document related to security guarantees, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., told “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday the document specifies that the U.S. intends to offer “security assurances” that she said are along the lines of Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which commits members to come to the defense of a NATO state that is attacked.
On Saturday, a group of NATO members and other U.S. allies released a joint statement calling the proposed peace plan “a basis which will require additional work.”
The White House said in a statement Sunday night that U.S. and Ukrainian officials had “drafted an updated and refined peace framework” following the discussions in Geneva. Rubio described one session in Geneva as “very meaningful” but added that “there’s still some work left to do, and that’s what our teams are going to be doing right now.”
Mr. Trump has pressed Zelenskyy to reach a deal by Thanksgiving, though Rubio described that deadline as flexible on Sunday.
A U.S. official told CBS News that Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to believe that he will take the Donetsk region of Ukraine one way or the other — either through a negotiated settlement or on the battlefield. The Trump administration’s negotiations in Geneva began from the premise that Putin is correct.
While that same U.S. official declined to provide a U.S. assessment of whether Ukraine is losing the war in the East, the U.S. official said that the trajectory of the fighting points to Russia taking Donetsk. The official indicated that the Russian progress in the eastern frontline city of Pokrovsk, which is a logistics hub for Ukraine, was not a positive sign for Kyiv’s defensive prospects. Russian media often refers to Pokrovsk as the “gateway” to Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region.
