US holds secret talks with Russian, Ukranian officials in UAE: report
A US Army official and the Russian delegation held talks on Monday evening, and they are expected to meet the Ukrainian intelligence chief, according to the Financial Times.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday for talks with Ukraine’s military intelligence chief and a Russian delegation for a peace deal to end the ongoing war, the Financial Times reported.
Citing a US official and two people familiar with the meeting, the report said Driscoll and the Russians began talks on Monday night, and the discussions were scheduled to continue on Tuesday.
According to the report, Driscoll was expected to meet Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR).
The talks in Abu Dhabi came after progress in talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Geneva over the weekend.
"Driscoll has been involved with this peace process pretty hot and heavy in the past few days," the Financial Times quoted the US official as saying.
"He’s been obviously very involved, so he’s able to kind of communicate that piece” to Russia, it added.
It was not immediately clear whether the three parties in Abu Dhabi were meeting jointly or holding separate discussions, according to the report.