As deadly strikes hit the Ukrainian capital and southern Russia overnight from Monday to Tuesday, a senior US military official is holding discreet discussions in Abu Dhabi with Russian emissaries, as part of a new attempt to restart peace negotiations. Europeans are calling for caution in the face of the American plan, accused of being too favorable to Moscow.
Latest developments
According to authorities in both camps:
- three people were killed and ten injured in a Ukrainian attack in Russia’s Rostov region;
- six people lost their lives in kyiv after new Russian strikes using missiles and drones, according to Ukrainian emergency services;
- Moscow claims to have intercepted nearly 250 Ukrainian drones overnight.
This violence comes at a time when, according to several American media, a senior officer of the American army is expected to bring together Russian and Ukrainian delegations separately in Abu Dhabi in order to accelerate negotiations around a peace agreement.
Discreet negotiations in Abu Dhabi
According to Reuters, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held unannounced talks with Russian officials in the Emirates, with more meetings planned for Tuesday.
Driscoll’s diplomatic role has increased in recent weeks, in the wake of the Trump–Putin rapprochement initiated last summer. The exact nature of the discussions was not specified. The Kremlin declined to comment on the talks.
A revised American plan, kyiv still hesitant
The discussions aim to adjust a 28-point American proposal, presented last week, which aroused anger in kyiv and surprise in Europe.
According to the Ukrainian authorities:
“After Geneva, the points are fewer and several correct elements have been integrated,”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday evening.
The Ukrainian president, however, clarified that the most sensitive points would be discussed directly with Donald Trump.
Cautious reaction in Europe
In Paris, Emmanuel Macron welcomed an initiative “going in the right direction”, while warning:
“We want peace, but not a peace that would be capitulation. »
The French president believes that only the Ukrainian authorities can decide on territorial concessions.
Ukraine’s European allies, meeting in virtual format on Tuesday, also insist on the need for balance in the American project.
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