Not a done deal as Trump hovers in Putin's shadow

Ukraine continues to suffer the swings and roundabouts of outrageous fortune at the hands of American negotiators but is learning how to survive the whirligig of the White House.

- SAM KILEY WORLD AFFAIRS EDITOR

Donald Trump and his envoys are neither honest brokers nor even allies of Kyiv's fight to defend itself against Russian invaders. But, for a little while, it seems that Ukraine has managed to swing them away from being outright enemies.

American officials have reportedly told US media that some kind of a deal has been struck in Abu Dhabi - after last weekend's talks in Geneva - and that the prospects for peace in Ukraine are looking good.

The nature of that deal is key. And there is no clarity on what version of a plan that is, or even whether it's a blueprint for peace or for just a ceasefire.

Kyiv rejected last week's Trump administration plan for total capitulation by Ukraine. There have been red faces in the White House since it was published, after some linguistic analysis suggested that it may have originally been written in Russian.

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, apparently had no idea the proposal was in the works. European leaders condemned it, Ukraine rejected it, and Moscow loved it.

Ukraine took the opening brouhaha as an opportunity to whisper its way through to Trump's people.