Vladimir Putin held talks with the American delegation. The main thing

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin. On the Russian side, Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev participated in the negotiations, while on the American side, entrepreneur and son—in-law of Donald Trump, Jared Kushner. Washington was also represented by Josh Grunbaum, Commissioner of the US Federal Procurement Service, whom the American leader recently appointed a senior adviser to the Peace Council. Moscow described the talks as "meaningful and confidential." Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

On the outcome of the negotiations

Kirill Dmitriev called Vladimir Putin's meeting with Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner important. Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in more detail about the results of the Americans' visit to the Kremlin.

"The negotiations were extremely informative, constructive and, I would say, extremely frank and confidential. The interlocutors arrived from Davos <...>, they shared their impressions and fresh assessments of the meeting of the US president in Davos with Zelensky, which both Witkoff and Kushner personally attended," he explained.

According to the Russian leader's aide, Putin's meeting with the Americans was "focused on getting information on the results of contacts between American representatives with Ukrainians and European partners" to "determine the parameters of further actions." The next step in this direction has already been agreed.

Ushakov said that during the talks, the Russian president reiterated that without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed in Anchorage, one should not expect to achieve a long-term settlement.

"As Vladimir Putin emphasized, we are sincerely interested in resolving the Ukrainian crisis through political and diplomatic methods. But until that happens, Russia will continue to consistently achieve the goals set for the special military operation. It is on the battlefield where the Russian Armed Forces have a strategic initiative," the presidential aide said.

About the trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi

After the talks, Witkoff traveled to the UAE, where contacts with both Russia and Ukraine will continue within the framework of the working groups.

"On Friday, January 23, the first meeting of the trilateral working group on security issues will be held in Abu Dhabi. It will include representatives from Russia, the United States and Ukraine. Along with this, the heads of the bilateral group on economic affairs, representatives of Russia and the United States, Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Witkoff, will also meet there in Abu Dhabi," Ushakov explained.

He added that the Russian negotiating group on security issues has already been formed and will fly to the UAE in the coming hours. It includes representatives of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, headed by Admiral Kostyukov, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.

"Our delegation has received specific instructions from the Russian president, taking into account all the details of the conversation with the Americans that took place today," Ushakov emphasized.

In addition to Witkoff, the American delegation will include the head of the State Department, Marco Rubio, the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, Jared Kushner, General Dan Kane, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrei Gnatov, and the first Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Kislitsa.

About the "Peace Council"

The Russian presidential aide also said that at the meeting in the Kremlin, Donald Trump's initiatives to create a Peace Council and a number of regional issues, including the situation around Greenland, were discussed.

"During the exchange of views on the Peace Council, we focused on our readiness to allocate $1 billion from Russian assets frozen by the former US administration to the budget of this structure," Ushakov said.

According to him, the rest of the funds from the Russian reserves frozen by the United States could be used to restore the territories affected by the fighting after the conclusion of the peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine.

"The conversation on this topic will be continued in the bilateral economic group," the Russian official promised.

On the prospects of Russian-American relations

Ushakov said that American representatives are already making certain plans that could be implemented after the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

"I would like to emphasize that the issues of further development of bilateral Russian-American relations were discussed conceptually, based on the fact that our countries have a huge potential for cooperation in various fields," the Russian presidential aide stressed.

He noted that the American side has done a lot to prepare for the meeting of the working group on security issues to be held in the UAE.

"And they hope that this meeting will be successful and will open up prospects for advancing the entire range of issues related to ending the conflict and reaching an agreement on a peaceful settlement," Ushakov said.

He called the talks held in the Kremlin "useful in every sense" for both Moscow and Washington.

"The Russian and American sides agreed at the meeting that they would continue to maintain close contacts with each other on both Ukrainian and other topics," the Russian leader's aide concluded.

Context

Earlier, Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with members of the Russian Security Council, confirmed that the United States had sent an invitation to Russia to join a new international structure being created at the initiative of the American leader, the Peace Council.

"In this regard, I would like first of all to thank the President of the United States for this proposal. We have always supported and support any efforts aimed at strengthening international stability," Vladimir Putin said.

He also noted the contribution of the US administration to the search for solutions to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

Vladimir Putin added that the Russian Foreign Ministry had been instructed to study the received documents on the "Peace Council", as well as to consult with Russia's strategic partners on this issue. Only then will it be possible to respond to the invitation, the Russian leader pointed out.

On Thursday, January 22, US President Donald Trump announced that he had held several discussions on Ukraine in Davos.

The head of the White House assessed the meeting with Zelensky as good. According to him, negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine are continuing.