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 the U.S. before the end of November to finalize an agreement. CBS News wasfirst to report on Sundaythat 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.
Taking toTruth Socialon Tuesday afternoon, President Trump said there were "only a few remaining points of disagreement."
The president said he directed his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and that Driscoll would meet with the Ukrainians.
"I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles," Mr. Trump said. "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."
On Tuesday morning, White House press secretary Karoline Leavittwrote on X, "Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table. There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States."
There was no immediate reaction from Russia, the invading force, to what was agreed to in Abu Dhabi, and there were no details from U.S. or Ukrainian officials about what is in the latest proposal. Umerov said Tuesday that Ukraine had agreed to the "core terms" of a peace proposal amid the ongoing talks in Abu Dhabi, which include U.S., Ukrainian and Russian officials, though not all together at the same time.
Speaking 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."
Lavrov stressed that, while Russia was still waiting to receive "from our American colleagues" an updated version of the peace proposal, Moscow expected it to include basic tenets agreed between Presidents Trump and Putin during their August meeting in Alaska.
"Key proposals of Trump's plan are based on understandings reached in Anchorage," Lavrov said. He said those principles were "reflected in the plan" proposed last week by the White House, "which we welcomed - President Putin said that."
"We are ready to discuss concrete formulations because there are a whole row of questions that need to be clarified," Lavrov said, adding: "If there will be no spirit and letter of Anchorage on the key understandings that we have fixated, then it will be a different situation in principle."
Umerov said Tuesday that Ukraine had agreed to the "core terms" of a peace proposal amid the ongoing talks in Abu Dhabi, which involve U.S., Ukrainian and Russian officials, though not all meeting together at the same time.
Umerov alsosaid in a social media postthat 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.
"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.
A Trump administration official said there was no agreement for Zelenskyy to come to the U.S. as of late Tuesday morning, but that if a meeting does happen in the coming days, it could take place at Mar-a-Lago.
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.
The apparent progress in Abu Dhabi comes amid anintensified pushby President Trump to secure a ceasefire in the almost four-year-long Russia-Ukraine war.
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, Rubio, Witkoff, the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and diplomats from Ukraine and European alliesattended talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Driscoll's meeting with Russian officials also follows avisit to Ukraine's capitallast 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 reportedon Sunday.
Last week,CBS News obtaineda 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 anaccompanying documentrelated 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 Sundaythe documentspecifies that the U.S. intends to offer "security assurances" that she said are along the lines of Article 5 of the NATO treaty, whichcommits membersto come to the defense of a NATO state that is attacked.
On Saturday, a group of NATO members and other U.S. alliesreleased a joint statementcalling the proposed peace plan "a basis which will require additional work."
The White Housesaid in a statement Sunday nightthat U.S. and Ukrainian officials had "drafted an updated and refined peace framework" following the discussions in Geneva. Rubiodescribed one session in Genevaas "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 byThanksgiving, though Rubio described that deadline as flexible on Sunday.
A U.S. officialtold CBS Newsthat 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.
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