US and Russia hold peace talks in Abu Dhabi as missiles pound Kyiv
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Kyiv was on Nov 25 hit by a barrage of missiles and hundreds of drones in an attack that killed at least six people.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON/KYIV – US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held talks on Nov 24 and Nov 25 with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi as part of an intense new push by President Donald Trump’s administration to end the war in Ukraine, Mr Driscoll’s spokesman said.
US and Ukrainian officials are trying to narrow the gaps between them over a peace plan, with core issues still unresolved and Ukraine wary of being strong-armed into accepting a deal largely on the Kremlin’s terms.
“Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine,” said US Army Lieutenant-Colonel Jeff Tolbert, a spokesman for Mr Driscoll. “The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronised with the White House... as these talks progress.”
The exact nature of the discussions was not immediately clear, and it was not known who was in the Russian delegation.
A US official said Mr Driscoll, who has emerged as a point man for US diplomatic efforts on Ukraine, was also expected to meet Ukrainian officials while in Abu Dhabi.
Underlining the stakes for Ukraine, its capital Kyiv was hit by a barrage of missiles
Residents were sheltering underground wearing winter jackets, some in tents.
US policy towards the war in Ukraine has zigzagged in recent months.
A hastily arranged summit between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska
The latest US peace proposal, a 28-point plan that emerged last week
The plan would require Kyiv to cede more territory
The sudden US push raises the pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is now at his most vulnerable since the start of the war in 2022 after a corruption scandal saw two of his ministers dismissed
Mr Zelensky could struggle to get Ukrainians to swallow a deal viewed as selling out their interests.
He said on Nov 24 the latest peace plan incorporated “correct” points after talks over the weekend in Geneva.
“The sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Mr Zelensky, who could visit the US in the next few days, said the process of producing a final document would be difficult.
Russia’s unrelenting attacks on Ukraine have left many sceptical about how peace can be achieved soon.
“There was a very loud explosion. Our windows were falling apart; we got dressed and ran out,” said Ms Nadiia Horodko, a 39-year-old accountant, after a residential building was struck in Kyiv overnight.
“There was horror, everything was already burning here, and a woman was screaming from the eighth floor, ‘Save the child, the child is on fire!’“
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said an amended peace plan must reflect the “spirit and letter” of an understanding reached between Mr Putin and Mr Trump at their Alaska summit.
Macron warns against European capitulation
A group of countries supporting Ukraine, which is known as the “coalition of the willing” and includes Britain and France, was set to hold a virtual meeting on Nov 25.
“It’s an initiative that goes in the right direction: peace. However, there are aspects of that plan that deserve to be discussed, negotiated, improved,” French President Emmanuel Macron told RTL radio about the US-proposed peace plan. “We want peace, but we don’t want a peace that would be a capitulation.”
He added that only the Ukrainians could decide what territorial concessions they are ready to make.
“What was put on the table gives us an idea of what would be acceptable for the Russians. Does that mean that it is what must be accepted by the Ukrainians and the Europeans? The answer is no,” Mr Macron added.
In a separate development, Romania sent out fighter jets to track drones which breached its territory near the border with Ukraine early on Nov 25, and one was still advancing deeper into the country, the Defence Ministry said.
Tensions have mounted along Europe’s eastern flank in recent months after suspected Russian drones breached the airspace of several NATO states
