London: A deal to end the war in Ukraine has gained more ground in talks to settle deep disputes over land claims and military power, as leaders from the US and Europe claim progress in revising the terms to be put to Russia.

US President Donald Trump claimed an agreement was “very close” and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the “good result” on the potential deal, overcoming the uproar at the original White House plan revealed last week.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pushed back at European leaders for seeking changes to the initial US proposal to cap the size of the Ukrainian army and give Russia formal control of large tracts of eastern Ukraine.

The moves could clear the way for a meeting between Trump and Zelensky within days, after a key Ukrainian negotiator thanked the US president and aired the idea of face-to-face talks.

Trump signalled his confidence in Washington DC early on Wednesday (AEDT) after his officials met Russian counterparts in Abu Dhabi earlier in the day.

“I think we’re getting very close to the deal,” he said in remarks at the White House.

The claim came hours after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media there had been “tremendous progress” on the US peace plan.

The negotiations included talks between US and Ukrainian officials with European counterparts in Geneva on Sunday, followed by a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday between Russian officials and US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

European leaders pushed back strongly against key elements of the original US proposal, including the rapid removal of economic sanctions on Russia and a cap on the size of the Ukrainian military, but the latest developments showed support for an amended plan.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron convened an online meeting of the “coalition of the willing” and asked Zelensky to address the leaders on Tuesday in Europe (2am on Wednesday, AEDT).

Zelensky aired the idea of a meeting with Trump and said he believed European leaders should also attend, while he warned that Russia continued to bombard Ukraine amid the discussions about peace.

“Now we have a good result from Geneva,” he said of the negotiations.

“That framework is on the table, and we are ready to move forward together with the United States of America, with the personal engagement of President Trump, and with Europe, and with leaders.

“And I’m ready to meet with President Trump. There are sensitive points to discuss, we have them still, and we think the presence of European leaders could be helpful.”

The coalition meeting included leaders from Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK, as well as the European Union and NATO. Australia was represented at the meeting by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

One of Ukraine’s key negotiators, Rustem Umerov, praised the work in Geneva and signalled support for the revised proposals without being specific about the terms.

“We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings held in Geneva between the Ukrainian and US delegations, as well as President Trump’s steadfast efforts to end the war,” he said.

“Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva.

“We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps.”

Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, also raised the idea of a meeting within days between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We look forward to organising 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,” he said.

European leaders called for changes to the original US proposal this week, but the coalition meeting on Tuesday ended with a positive message about the peace plan – although, as with other statements, there was nothing specific about the terms of the potential deal.

“Progress was made and I welcome some of the developments that have now come forward,” Starmer said in public remarks at the coalition meeting.

“It was a chance to ensure that the draft plan fully reflects Ukraine’s interests and lays the ground for a lasting peace.”

But there was no sign of Russian agreement with the proposal – and Lavrov made it clear that Russia preferred the original plan from the White House rather than the changes being sought by European leaders.

“Our assessments remain valid in the sense that the key provisions of Trump’s (original) plan are based on understandings reached in Anchorage at the Russian-American summit in August this year. And these principles are generally reflected in the plan, which we welcomed,” Lavrov said in Moscow.

The original plan included capping the Ukrainian army at 600,000 personnel, ceding all of the Donbas region to Russia and removing sanctions on Russia.

European leaders have pushed for a higher cap on the Ukrainian military, the ability to deploy foreign soldiers into Ukraine to keep the peace, and a gradual removal of sanctions in order to place pressure on Russia to avoid more conflict.

Trump’s positive remarks about progress suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian officials, who met on Sunday in Geneva, had made advances in defusing the vehement opposition from Kyiv and its European allies to a 28-point peace proposal the White House team floated last week.

While Trump initially suggested a deadline of this Thursday to gain Ukrainian support for the peace plan, the original proposal sparked a backlash from Republicans and he appears to be willing to adjust that deadline.

Moscow and Kyiv exchanged fire overnight with heavy air raids on Kyiv and assaults on southern Russian areas that left at least six people dead in the Ukrainian capital and three dead in Russia’s Rostov region, officials say.

Ukraine’s air defences worked to shield the capital from combined missile and drone attacks and loud explosions were heard, with authorities instructing residents to stay in shelters.

Separately, Romania scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday morning to monitor what it said were two intrusions into its airspace by drones in the east and south-east near the border with Ukraine, according to the Defence Ministry.

In the days since White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and his Russian counterpart, Kirill Dmitriev, hammered out the 28-point Trump peace plan floated last week, Ukrainian and European officials have hurried to draft a counter-offer with far less favourable terms for Russia.

The result is a winnowed-down, 19-point plan, according to people familiar with the matter.

Following the overnight strikes, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for continued pressure on Russia as well as unity among transatlantic allies to end the war. The latest attack was a “terrorist response to the United States’ and President Trump’s peace proposals”, he said on the X platform.

With Reuters, Bloomberg, AP

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/us-and-russia-hold-secret-ukraine-peace-talks-in-abu-dhabi-20251125-p5nifb.html

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