By In the strongest sign yet that President Donald Trump is closing in on the most significant diplomatic achievement of his second term, senior American officials confirmed Tuesday that Ukraine has accepted the central terms of a U.S.-brokered peace framework aimed at ending nearly four years of war. While technical details remain under negotiation, the development marks a dramatic turn toward a settlement that Trump has cast as both urgent and achievable — a hallmark of what his advisors have repeatedly called his “presidency of peace.”
A high-ranking U.S. representative told CBS News that “the Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” adding that only “some minor details” must be resolved. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s top national security adviser, publicly underscored that progress, saying Kyiv and Washington had aligned on the main aspects, clearing the way for final adjustments and a possible visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United States before month’s end.
The diplomatic push reflects an intensive, multi-front effort by Trump’s incoming national security team. U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll spent the day in Abu Dhabi meeting Russian counterparts in what multiple officials described as exhaustive, hour-by-hour sessions. One American defense official on the ground described the talks as “moving quick,” adding, “We remain very optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is optimistic.”
Trump himself signaled the negotiations’ momentum earlier in the day, writing that only “a few remaining points of disagreement” persisted. He confirmed dispatching his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow, while Driscoll handled Ukrainian interlocutors. “I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,” Trump said. He added that he would meet Zelenskyy and Putin “ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”
A White House spokesperson echoed that message of rapid advancement, noting, “Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table.”
Moscow has yet to issue a formal statement on the Abu Dhabi discussions, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov acknowledged earlier that Russia “welcomed” the contours of the Trump plan, emphasizing that “key proposals of Trump’s plan are based on understandings reached in Anchorage.” Lavrov said Russia awaits a revised draft from Washington and stressed that any final settlement must reflect the “spirit and letter” of those prior agreements. “We are ready to discuss concrete formulations,” he added.
Umerov, in a separate online statement, confirmed that Ukrainian, European, and U.S. representatives had aligned on the primary terms during weekend consultations in Switzerland. “We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps,” he said, adding that Kyiv aims to organize a Zelenskyy visit to the U.S. “at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump.”
We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings held in Geneva between the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations, as well as President Trump’s steadfast efforts to end the war.
Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in…
— Rustem Umerov (@rustem_umerov) November 25, 2025
Inside the broader architecture, U.S. negotiators are working from a refined 28-point framework shaped by meetings in Geneva and earlier discussions in Kyiv. The plan includes provisions Zelenskyy once resisted — such as relinquishing the full Donetsk region and shelving NATO membership goals — but comes with parallel U.S. security guarantees “resembling NATO’s mutual defense clause,” according to Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington.
A coalition of NATO allies has labeled the draft a workable “starting point,” and insiders say Trump is pressing to secure agreement by the holiday season. Rubio noted there is room for flexibility on that timetable, but officials close to the talks say the pace is accelerating.
“Hopefully, we’ll get feedback from the Russians soon,” one American official said. “This is moving quick.”
For a conflict that has reshaped global security and drained Ukraine’s manpower and resources, the acknowledgment from Kyiv that it has embraced the core of Trump’s proposal marks the clearest break in the stalemate since the war began. And for Trump — who pledged on the campaign trail to negotiate an end to the war — the breakthrough represents a defining moment for a president intent on demonstrating that American pressure, leverage, and unconventional diplomacy can still stop wars rather than start them.
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