U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held secret talks Monday with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, to follow up on this weekend’s talks with Ukraine in Geneva aimed at advancing the Ukraine peace process, a U.S. official told ABC News.
Driscoll was scheduled to meet with the Russian delegation again on Tuesday, the official said. It was unclear which Russian officials made up the Russian delegation.
The previously undisclosed talks with the Russian delegation on Monday follow talks in Geneva last weekend between the United States and Ukraine and are the latest sign that the new American initiative to restart the peace process in Ukraine is moving forward.
The U.S. delegation to the Geneva talks was led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Army Secretary Driscoll.
ABC News has learned that the 28-point peace plan presented by the United States to Ukraine in Geneva has been revised to a 19-point peace plan that no longer includes a point on the issue of amnesty regarding acts committed during the war, as well as limits on the future size of Ukraine’s military.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said in a speech Monday night that more work needed to be done on the plan that was revised this weekend.
In the wake of this weekend’s talks, Russian officials said they had not received any updates on what had been discussed in Geneva and what revisions had been made after talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
At the conclusion of the Geneva talks, Rubio returned to the United States and Driscoll traveled to Abu Dhabi, where he met secretly with a Russian delegation on Monday to review changes made to the 28-point plan discussed in Geneva, according to the official.
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Monday, August 11, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Nurphoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Last week, as Driscoll headed to Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian officials to advance the peace process, U.S. officials told ABC News that there was a possibility that Driscoll could meet with Russian officials in the future, although it was unclear when that might take place.
The Secretary of the Army’s key role in the Trump administration’s efforts to restart the peace talks process emerged following a discussion between President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance two weeks ago.
Normally, a secretary of one of the military services would not be involved in such an important diplomatic proposal, but it is possible that both Russia and Ukraine would view sending military personnel favorably.
Before his trip to Ukraine, Driscoll held talks with Rubio and Steve Witkoff, who has been the administration’s envoy working on peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Stopping in Germany, Driscoll and his delegation participated in additional updates before their trip to Ukraine.
Accompanying Driscoll on his trip to Ukraine were Gen. Randy George, Army chief of staff, Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Army Sergeant Major Michael Weimer and Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, who heads the U.S. military assistance program for Ukraine.
These senior US military officials were not involved in the subsequent talks in Geneva and are not involved in the latest talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi.
