Even as the animosity continues to build between the United States and Russia, the two countries may be moving toward compromise in a hotly disputed theater: Ukraine. Following Jan. 26 talks in Dubai between Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov and U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker, Surkov said that Russia would carefully study U.S. proposals for a U.N. peacekeeping force in Ukraine. More specifically, Surkov spoke favorably of a U.S. plan to deploy U.N. peacekeepers in phases. A phased approach, if carried out, would be a significant departure from the United States' and Russia's respective positions up until now. Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin first signaled his openness to a U.N. peacekeeping mission last September, the Kremlin has been adamant that such a mission must be limited to guarding independent observers on the line of contact between Ukrainian troops and separatist forces.