BREAKING – Ukraine agrees to peace deal, can the document be signed in Budapest?

Ukraine has agreed to a peace deal with Russia, with only minor details remaining to be worked out, CBS News reported Tuesday, citing a US official.

Peace deal in Ukraine on the horizon?

“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal. There are some minor details to be sorted out, but they have agreed to a peace deal,” the official told the news outlet.

The report came after Ukraine’s National Defence and Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov said delegations “reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva.”

Meanwhile, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, two US officials and two diplomatic sources said. Driscoll spent hours negotiating with Russian representatives on Tuesday, a US military official said.

Surrendering more territories

Driscoll is working in Abu Dhabi on a revised version of the White House’s 28-point proposal following Geneva negotiations. “We remain very optimistic … Secretary Driscoll is optimistic. Hopefully, we’ll get feedback from the Russians soon. This is moving quick,” the official said.

Representatives from the US, Ukraine, and Europe met Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss ending the over three-and-a-half-year war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday the plan now has “fewer points” and “many of the right elements” following negotiations. He said on Monday that there is still work to do to finalise the document.

The original draft reportedly required Ukraine to surrender additional territory to Russia, limit its military size, and abandon NATO membership.

Can the peace deal be signed in Budapest?

Following President Trump’s meeting with President Putin several weeks ago in Alaska, the two leaders agreed to continue their negotiations. The venue proposed was the Hungarian capital, Budapest. However, the talks hit a major roadblock when Putin refused to accept the American proposals, instead demanding larger territories from Ukraine than Kyiv was willing to concede.

Despite this setback, the Orbán government has remained eager to host a Trump-Putin summit. President Trump also expressed openness to holding a future meeting in Budapest during his recent discussions with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Washington. The stage is still set for Budapest to play a pivotal role in the quest for peace.

Only the Ukrainians opposed the idea, arguing that the 1994 Budapest Memorandum was the final document affirming their borders. However, this agreement was flagrantly violated by Russia when it annexed Crimea and engaged in aggression against Ukraine.

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