US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held conferences with Russian officers in Abu Dhabi on Monday a couple of proposed plan for ending the war in Ukraine, a US official advised NCS.
Driscoll will proceed the conferences into Tuesday, the official mentioned. It’s not clear who’s a part of the Russian delegation, however Driscoll is essentially the most senior member of the American delegation excluding any diplomats, the official mentioned.
The conferences are supposed to lay the groundwork for increased-degree engagements sooner or later, the official mentioned, including that the Russian delegation is attending with President Vladimir Putin’s approval.
Driscoll’s conferences with Russian officers observe days of intense diplomacy in Geneva, Switzerland, the place US and Ukrainian officers negotiated over a 28-level proposal that Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned was authored by the US with Russian and Ukrainian enter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Monday that the brand new proposal now accommodates “fewer points than 28, and many proper considerations have been taken into account in this framework.”
The Ukrainian delegation returned house from Geneva and “reported on the new draft of steps,” Zelensky mentioned. “This is indeed the right approach. I will discuss sensitive issues with President Trump.”
The Kremlin has not mentioned a lot in regards to the US plan, however Putin has mentioned the US proposal “in principle, could form the basis for a final peace settlement.” He added that the model of the plan seen by Russia is “in line with the discussions” on the US-Russia summit in Alaska earlier this yr, however it’s not clear whether or not that model has held up following days of conferences between the US and Ukraine.