UNITED NATIONS, November 25. /TASS/. The United Nations is not participating in the Ukrainian settlement talks but is following the developments around the potential peace deal, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, told a briefing.
"We’ve all seen the press reports relating to new versions of the discussions. We’re obviously following all of this very closely, but we are not a party to these discussions," he said, adding that the secretary general has a "consistent position on how he would like to see an end to this conflict" and the organization continues to hold to it.
Last week Washington proposed a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, which caused discontent among Kiev's partners in Europe. On November 23, the United States and Ukraine held consultations in Geneva on the plan. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the meeting as the most productive to date. According to the Ukrainian media, Washington and Kiev managed to agree on a large part of the plan. The United States, according to Rubio, agreed to isolate issues of Ukraine’s European integration and potential NATO membership as a separate negotiating track. According to The Washington Post, after these consultations the points of the plan were reduced to 19.
CBS News said earlier, citing sources, that US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll held meetings with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi. Later, these reports were confirmed by the Pentagon, adding that these consultations took place on Monday evening and on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Axios news portal said, citing its sources that a Ukrainian delegation, which includes military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov (designated as a terrorist and extremist in Russia), is also in Abu Dhabi.
Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Tuesday that the Kremlin is keeping a close eye on media reports about contacts between Russia and US officials in Abu Dhabi.