White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that “tremendous progress” has been made toward securing a peace agreement with Ukraine and Russia — but stopped short of declaring that either party has fully agreed to the framework.
“There are 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 wrote in an X post.
The statement, approved by senior members of the president’s negotiating team, came as American envoy and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll spent his second day huddling with Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi to nail down remaining details. If successful, that could lead to leader-to-leader talks with President Donald Trump.
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s national security chief and top negotiator, said in a post on X Tuesday that talks with the U.S. officials in recent days were “productive and constructive.” He said delegations have “reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement,” a clear sign of support.
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“We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps,” he wrote. “We look forward to organizing a visit of Ukraine’s President to the US at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump.”
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Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has acknowledged receiving the proposal through unofficial channels. Lavrov said the revised plan must reflect the “spirit and letter” of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska in August, warning that if those understandings are missing, it would be “a fundamentally different situation” for Moscow.
The latest progress came after a mad dash by the U.S. to rescue peace talks after an initial draft that leaked caused outrage among European officials and American lawmakers who argued that it was too weighted in favor of Russia, the aggressor in the war. That original 28-point proposal draft would have blocked Ukraine from joining NATO, recognized Russian control over Crimea and parts of the Donbas and placed strict limits on Ukraine’s military.
Ukraine pushed back, and the text was rewritten during weekend talks in Geneva involving U.S., Ukrainian and European officials. Delegates say the document was cut down and several of the most controversial demands were removed, including a troop cap, a full amnesty for war crimes and language that implied Ukraine needed to concede additional territory, ABC News reported. The updated framework instead points to a diplomatic process for dealing with occupied areas.
Now, the updated 19-point agreement centers on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, BBC reported. It removes an automatic veto on future NATO membership. It rules out permanent Western troops but leaves room for other non-permanent missions. Ukrainian and U.S. officials say a separate document outlines American “security assurances” similar to Article 5-style protection if Russia attacks again.
“The idea that the United States of America isn’t engaging with both sides equally in this war to bring it to an end is a complete and total fallacy,” Leavitt told reporters Monday, pushing back on criticism.
The diplomacy is unfolding as Russia continues heavy strikes across Ukraine. Kyiv has been hit again in recent days, and European governments remain divided over the emerging deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the remaining issues are sensitive and plans to raise them directly with Trump.
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