President Donald Trump has sent his top negotiators for another round of high level discussions with both Moscow and Kyiv, while making it clear that he will only sit down with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine once negotiations produce a nearly complete agreement to end the conflict.
Trump said in a social media post that the original peace framework containing twenty eight points, drafted by the United States, has now been refined with feedback from both sides. Only a handful of disagreements remain, he claimed, and significant headway has been made over the last week. This updated proposal is the same one that drew criticism from Ukrainian and European officials when it first surfaced.
He has instructed special envoy Steve Witkoff to travel to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin, while Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who has already been engaged with Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi, has been sent to meet Ukrainian officials.
Trump also announced that he hopes to meet both President Zelenskyy and President Putin, but only once a final peace deal is either fully completed or extremely close to completion.
The renewed diplomatic push comes at a moment when officials at the White House are increasingly optimistic, even though many international observers remain unconvinced that Trump’s effort will lead to an agreement. Earlier reports hinting that a settlement was within reach have also proved unreliable.
One persistent obstacle is that any arrangement acceptable to Kyiv has typically been unacceptable to Moscow. Analysts warn that this pattern may undermine the talks once again. Trump’s reluctance to participate directly in mediation may also complicate the process, since any peace deal will require painful concessions from both capitals. Ukrainian officials have made it known that they would welcome an invitation to speak with Trump, who is leaving Washington to spend Thanksgiving at Mar a Lago.
Earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pushed back against speculation that Kyiv had already agreed to a draft settlement. After speaking with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he posted a message saying that discussions with Washington continue and that he appreciates the efforts being made by the United States and by Trump personally.
Expectations intensified after Trump hinted on Monday that major breakthroughs had been achieved. ABC News later reported that Ukraine had accepted the main outline of a potential deal and that only secondary issues remained, citing a United States official.
Still, even if Washington and Kyiv manage to find common ground, Moscow may again halt any momentum. Former United States ambassador John Herbst noted that Trump wants a stable peace, while Putin seeks political control over Ukraine, making the two goals incompatible unless Russia is convinced it cannot prevail.
Recent talks between American and Russian negotiators in Abu Dhabi followed earlier meetings in Geneva, where progress was made in calming the strong backlash from European allies and from Ukraine to the original American plan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no updates to share when asked about the Abu Dhabi discussions.
The initial peace proposal stunned Kyiv and its partners, as it required Ukraine to abandon its efforts to join NATO and to relinquish parts of the eastern Donbas region, including areas not yet held by Russia. That draft was shaped by conversations between Witkoff and senior Russian officials. In one brief October phone call, Witkoff even advised Putin’s foreign policy aide on how to discuss the matter with Trump, suggesting timing and strategy before Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington.
Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov was also present in Abu Dhabi for meetings, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Negotiators later reduced the original list to nineteen proposals during the Geneva meetings. Yet Deputy Chief of Staff Ihor Brusylo emphasized that any discussion involving territorial boundaries, which remain at the heart of the war, will ultimately need to be addressed directly between Trump and Zelenskiy.
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that both sides had reached a shared understanding of the major points discussed in Geneva. He added that Ukraine is working to organize a visit for Zelenskiy to the United States as soon as possible.
European involvement intensified as well. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron joined Chancellor Merz and leaders from Italy, Sweden, New Zealand, Estonia and the European Union for a conference call with Zelenskiy to discuss the peace framework. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio also participated, marking his growing role as Trump’s main link to European governments during the negotiations. According to Starmer, Ukraine has offered constructive revisions and Zelenskiy believes most of the text appears acceptable.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow expects the United States to share a fresh version of the plan once discussions with Ukraine and European partners conclude. He warned, however, that any departure from the commitments reached during Trump’s earlier summit with Putin in Alaska would face strong resistance from the Kremlin.
While the diplomacy continues, fighting has not stopped. Overnight, Russia launched heavy air attacks on Kyiv, and Ukraine carried out strikes on southern regions of Russia.
