The White House says that “huge progress” has been made in talks with Ukraine and Russia / Zelenski welcomes the “principles” of the new peace plan / Trump's message
The White House says that “tremendous progress” has been made to resolve the war in Ukraine, but that “further discussions” are still needed between the parties to iron out “delicate, but not insurmountable, details.” The British prime minister hosted a virtual meeting of the “Coalition of the Will”, which was also attended by the Ukrainian president, the head of American diplomacy and the secretary general of NATO, write Reuters, CBS and The Guardian. Donald Trump said he would meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin “only when the agreement to end this war is final or in its final stages.”
Zelenskiy welcomes the “principles” in the revised version of the plan
Ukraine's president welcomed the “principles” in the new version of the US plan to end the war, saying they could lead to “deeper agreements”.
“The principles of this document can be expanded into deeper agreements,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“I count on further active cooperation with the American side and President Trump. Much depends on America, because Russia pays the most attention to American power,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Donald Trump: The peace plan has been optimized, with input from both sides
The US president says there are “just a few points of disagreement” in talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine in February 2022.
“The original 28-point peace plan that was developed by the United States has been refined, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few points of disagreement remaining. In hopes of finalizing this peace plan, I have assigned my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow, and at the same time Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will meet with the Ukrainians,” Donald Trump said on Tuesday evening in a post on Truth Social.
“I look forward to meeting, I hope, with President Zelensky and President Putin soon, but only when the agreement to end this war is final or in its final stages,” the US leader said.
Head of the European Commission: “Pressure, the only language to which Russia responds”
In a statement on the X platform, the president of the European Commission said of the “Coalition of the Will” that she will continue to put pressure on Russia since “pressure remains the only language to which Russia responds.”
“We need strong transatlantic cooperation. Because it produces results. Consider the significant impact of our coordinated and successive waves of sanctions against the Russian economy. They reduce the resources available to Russia to wage its war of aggression,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
“Ukraine's interests are our interests. They are inseparable. Therefore, we will continue to stand firmly with Ukraine in the future negotiations. A central point is the issue of financing for Ukraine, including the use of immobilized Russian sovereign assets,” said the head of the Community Executive.
Viktor Orban will travel to Moscow
The Prime Minister of Hungary will travel to Moscow on Friday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to government sources involved in the preparation of the trip, reports Euronews.com, citing the European investigative publication VSquare.
The Hungarian government has yet to confirm the visit, with Budapest saying it will inform the public of Viktor Orban's schedule in due course. The agenda of the meeting is not yet known.
US-Coalition of the Will Task Force
The Elysee Palace stated that the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also participated in the “Coalition of the Will” video conference for the first time.
According to the French side, “it was decided to establish a working group between the US and the coalition to strengthen discussions on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine.”
Speaking from Paris, President Emmanuel Macron told the coalition that efforts to end the war in Ukraine were now at a “turning point”.
“Negotiations are gaining new momentum and we should take advantage of this momentum not because there is cause for alarm – Ukraine is solid, Russia is slow and Europe is steadfast – but because there is finally a chance to make real progress towards a good peace,” the French leader said.
Ukraine needs “a set of very robust security guarantees, and not paper guarantees,” he added, noting that previous promises have been “shattered by successive Russian aggressions.”
US President Donald Trump has said that, in his opinion, an agreement on the war in Ukraine is getting closer.
“We will get there,” the US leader said at a White House event, without giving further details.
What Zelensky said
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to move forward with the US-backed peace deal and that he is prepared to address sensitive aspects of the plan with his US counterpart Donald Trump in talks that he believes should include European allies.
Addressing the “Coalition of the Will”, Zelenskiy urged European leaders to work out a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” in Ukraine and to continue supporting Kiev until Moscow proves it really wants the war to end.
Zelenskiy wants a meeting with Trump “as soon as possible”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants to meet with his American counterpart “as soon as possible,” possibly by Thanksgiving, to finalize an agreement on terms for ending the war, the head of the presidential office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, told Axios.
“I hope President Zelenskiy's visit will take place as soon as possible, because (…) it will help President Trump continue his historic mission to end this war,” Yermak said.
“Because he can say, 'Look, this is confirmed and agreed upon, our position with the Ukrainians. We support it and we are now continuing to talk with the Russians,'” explained the Ukrainian official.
The British Prime Minister, about the “multinational force Ukraine”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired a meeting of the “Coalition of the Will” via video conference and told Ukraine's allies that talks on a possible ceasefire were “moving in a positive direction”.
“Progress has been made and I welcome some of the developments that have now emerged. It was a chance to ensure that the draft plan fully reflects Ukraine's interests and lays the foundations for lasting peace,” said Keir Starmer.
He said Ukraine had “proposed some constructive changes” supported by European national security advisers.
The British official spoke of a possible peacekeeping operation and said the “multinational force Ukraine” would play a “vital role” in guaranteeing the country's security.
“I urge my colleagues on the call this afternoon to strengthen their national commitments because we need to make sure we have the most robust capability, the most robust plans on the table. And we'll be talking to the US military next in terms of their own planning. And we need to come back here with a strong political guarantee to show Russia that we're serious about responding to any breach,” Keir Starmer added.
“Huge progress,” says the White House
The US has made “tremendous progress” towards a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, but some sensitive details will require further discussion, the White House said on Tuesday, according to The Guardian.
“There are some delicate, but not insurmountable, details that need to be ironed out and will require further discussion between Ukraine, Russia and the United States,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a post on the X platform.
Ukraine supports the essence of the peace plan resulting from talks with the United States in Geneva, but some of the most sensitive aspects of the framework remain to be discussed between the presidents of the two countries, a Ukrainian official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Ukraine's national security chief said earlier that President Volodymyr Zelensky could visit the United States in the coming days to finalize a deal with Donald Trump to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.
In parallel, a US official told CBS News that Kiev had “accepted a peace deal” negotiated by the Trump administration to end the war.
The statement made by the American official went further than the somewhat more cautious position expressed by Kiev.
“The Ukrainians have accepted the peace agreement,” the US official told CBS News. “There are still some minor details to work out, but they have accepted the peace agreement,” he added.
Ukrainian officials, cautious
Ukraine's National Security Adviser Rustem Umerov wrote in a social media post on Tuesday that the country's negotiators had “reached a common agreement on the essential terms” of a deal discussed between US, European and Ukrainian officials in Geneva over the weekend.
“We now count on the support of our European partners in the next steps. We look forward to organizing a visit of the President of Ukraine to the US at the earliest suitable date in November to complete the final steps and conclude an agreement with President Trump,” Umerov said in his post on Tuesday on X.
“Following the meetings in Geneva, we see many prospects that can make the road to peace a reality. There are solid results, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Zelenski also said on Tuesday morning.
US-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi
The news came as US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials, according to Reuters and Politico.
A US military official in Abu Dhabi told CBS News that Driscoll spent hours on Tuesday negotiating with Russian representatives, attending meetings throughout the day.
“We remain very optimistic,” the official said. “Secretary Driscoll is optimistic. We hope to hear back from the Russians soon. Things are moving quickly,” he said.
It is unclear who else is part of the US delegation in Abu Dhabi. A U.S. official told CBS News on Tuesday that a Ukrainian delegation is also there and has been in contact with Driscoll and his team.
What does Russia say?
Russia has not yet reacted to this information. Earlier, Russian officials signaled that they had not yet received the amended version of the peace plan, but that they supported some of the proposals in the 28-point draft originally proposed by the US.
It was modified in Geneva, and reduced to 19 points. Some provisions favorable to Russia disappeared from the plan, while major decisions – such as territorial control – were left on hold.
At a press conference on Tuesday, veteran foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that while Russia “appreciates the position of the US, which takes the initiative in resolving the Ukrainian conflict,” Moscow is “acting professionally, not divulging information before formal agreements are made.”
“Russia expects the US to inform it in the near future about the results of consultations with Ukraine and Europe,” Lavrov said.
The British Prime Minister tempers optimism
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried to minimize the importance of the new information, writes The Guardian.
“As far as I understand, this is not a new agreement, but confirmation from Ukraine that it is satisfied with the draft drawn up yesterday in Geneva, which, of course, does not address the issue of territory,” he said.
“So, as I understand it, this is a confirmation of what was decided in Geneva, but not a new set of proposals or agreements,” Starmer explained.
