It was assembled — line by line — by people the public would never know existed.… The conference room in Abu Dhabi had no flags. Only screens. Three clocks. And one long table where the real war — the one made of commas, clauses, and satellite maps — was quietly being fought. Outside, journalists waited for speeches. Inside, nobody cared about speeches. ⸻ The Joint Drafting Cell — as it was called in official documents — was made of people who never appeared on television. Russian deputy ministers. Ukrainian national security lawyers. U.S. liaison analysts. Two Emirati coordinators who spoke rarely but listened to everything. They didn’t argue like politicians. They argued like engineers. “Clause 7 must reference phased withdrawal tied to verification satellites,” said the Ukrainian legal officer. “Verification must be bilateral,” the Russian general replied. “Multilateral,” said the American quietly, without looking up. ...