LOS ANGELES (OC).–After months of backsliding on peacemaking for the Ukraine War, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled after talks in Geneva with the U.S. and European Union, that he could accept President Trump’s 28-point peace plan with some revisions. Ukraine’s National Security Adviser Rustern Umerov said a common understanding had been reached to bring Zelensky to Washington sometime after Thanksgiving to to sign an agreemento end the war. “The Ukrainian have agreed to the peace deal,” said an anonymous U.S. official. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal,” said the unnamed official. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with his Russian counterparts in Abu Dhabi in a secret meeting to confirm terms for a peace settlement. Driscoll spent hours negotiating with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi.
Umerov said Zelensky had agreed to the “core terms” of Trump’s peace plan with only minor changes. Zelensky wanted security guarantees something Trump provided him in the agreement with Ukraine agreeing to give up NATO membership. “Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bring both Ukraine and Russia to the table,” said White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt on X. “There’s a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States,” Leavitt said. Territorial concessions and security guarantees have always been the main sticking points preventing a past deal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov played his cards close to the vest, only saying that Moscow would not comment on confidential talks.
Lavrov knows exactly what would work in a peace deal and what wouldn’t. Moscow “operaties professionally, not leaking information b efore formal agreements are reached,” Lavrov said. “Russia expects the U.S. to inform it of the results of with Ukraine and Europe in the near future,” Lavrov said. Normally skeptical Lavrov has been uncharacteristically neutral in his response to recent developments, hinting at something positive. “We now count on the support of our European partners in our further stesp,. We look forward to oragizing a vist 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. Ukrainian officials have not previously been onboard with any of Trump’s past peace proposals, questioning what has changed in the latest round of peace talks.
While Driscoll was busy negotiating with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s peace envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met in Geneva with Ukrainian and European and Russian official to reach a consensus on what works for a final peace settlement. Zelensky seems more open to Trump’s security guarantees that offer Ukraine NATO-like Article 5 protections from further Russian aggression. Zelensky had been asking the U.S. to provide security guarantees, something Trump was reluctant to do because of his relationship with Putin. Putin understands that if he agrees to a peace settlement, there won’t be any need for security guarantees because the conflict will be settled. Trump seems to have finally gotten through to Zelensky that it’s in Ukraine’s best interest to settle the conflict with the Kremlin.
Zelensky has had his up-and-downs with Trump, with the bottom hitting Feb. 28 in an Oval Office meeting that went awry. Trump told Zelensky exactly what he’s telling him now, to cutting his losses, end the war and get on with rebuilding the country. Putin certainly kept the pressure on continuing without let up to bomb Ukraine and take more sovereign territory. Zelensky and the EU had refused before to cede Ukrainian territory. Shortly after the war started Feb. 24, 2022, Putin offered to end the war if Zelensky accepted the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and Russian sovereignty of Crimea. Zelensky opted for war instead and has been steadly losing territory to the Kremlin, not not to mention destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure and killing thousands of civilians and military. Zelensky finally realized that Trump is trying to defend Ukraine.
Trump’s latest peace plan seems to have caught the attention of Kiev and Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war, return to the G8 and give the Russian Federation a brighter future on the world stage. Putin has wanted to end the war just not on Zelensky’s past terms. Putin seems like he can accept Trump’s conditions for ending the war, including taking over the Donetsk region of Donbas. After nearly four years of war, both sides realize that there’s no winners at this point to a stalemate that has both sides losing too much blood-and-treasure. Putin trusts Trump to produce a peace deal that protects Russia’s long-term interests while, at the same time, gives Ukraine a brighter future. Zelensky knows that he can’t count on the U.S. or EU to continue funding perpetual war with the Kremlin. He knows now is the time to make his best deal.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
