Special envoy of the U.S. President Steve Witkoff and son-in-law of Donald Trump Jared Kushner held lengthy negotiations in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the Kremlin, the meeting lasted more than three and a half hours and was dedicated to questions of further steps for resolving the conflict around Ukraine, as well as prospects for interaction between Moscow and Washington.
According to Russian Presidential Assistant Yuri Ushakov, the American side presented Vladimir Putin with its assessments and impressions from recent contacts — in particular, from Donald Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos, as well as from several consultations held in December and January in Florida and several European capitals.
Ushakov noted that the negotiations focused on analyzing the received information and developing a joint understanding of possible further actions. As a result, the parties managed to agree on the next practical step — holding the first meeting of the trilateral working group on security issues with the participation of representatives from Russia, the USA, and Ukraine. The meeting is scheduled for January 23 and will take place in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation and launch of this working group. According to him, the negotiations will take place "at the technical level", starting on Friday and lasting for two days.
As Yuri Ushakov clarified, the Russian delegation for participation in the negotiations has already been formed, received "specific instructions" from the president, and will head to Abu Dhabi in the near future. It includes representatives of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, and will be headed by Igor Kostyukov, the head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
In addition, a separate meeting of Steve Witkoff with the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev is scheduled in Abu Dhabi. They serve as co-chairs of the bilateral working group on economic cooperation.
Commenting on the results of the negotiations in the Kremlin, Yuri Ushakov characterized them as "exclusively substantive, constructive, and extremely frank and trusting". He emphasized that the Russian side once again stated its position: without resolving territorial issues, it is impossible to expect a long-term resolution of the conflict. According to Ushakov, until such agreements are reached, Moscow intends to continue pursuing the goals stated within the framework of the special military operation.