U.S. and Russia Hold Peace Talks

“Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will huddle with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday about a peace plan to end the Ukraine war, a rare meeting between the countries’ top military leaders and one that will not include Secretary of State Marco Rubio or other U.S. negotiators,” Politico reports.

Playbook: “It’s no reflection on Driscoll’s abilities to point out, again, that this is an extraordinary assignment. Hollywood script writers would be turned down for such a plot.”

“Negotiating with top-level Russian officials is something for which top Western diplomats train for years. Driscoll has been involved in this process for a matter of days. And the stakes could hardly be higher, with tens of thousands of lives on the line as Europe’s biggest war since 1945 rumbles on.”