Putin and Trump Envoy Hold Marathon Kremlin Talks Ahead of Abu Dhabi Meeting

The talks between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of the US president, took place in the Kremlin and lasted more than three and a half hours on January 22-23 overnight.

On the Russian side, the meeting also included presidential aide Yury Ushakov and the president's special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, who serves as CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The US delegation included entrepreneur and investor Jared Kushner, founder of Affinity Partners, as well as Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration.

Witkoff announced the upcoming visit in an interview with CNN on January 21. The information was later confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russia Assesses the Outcome of the Talks

Kirill Dmitriev described the negotiations between the Russian and American sides in the Kremlin as important.

"Important talks between Russia and the United States took place in the Kremlin today,” Dmitriev said.

Yury Ushakov noted that the central focus of the meeting involved receiving information about the outcomes of US contacts with Ukraine and representatives of European countries. According to him, Witkoff and Kushner also shared their impressions from Davos, where talks took place between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ushakov added that during the meeting Putin expressed Moscow's readiness to allocate one billion dollars from frozen Russian assets to the budget of the Board of Peace. He said the remaining funds frozen in the United States could be directed toward rebuilding territories affected by the fighting in Ukraine.

Board of Peace Initiative and Regional Issues

According to Ushakov, the Kremlin talks also covered Donald Trump's initiative to establish the Board of Peace, as well as a range of regional issues and the situation surrounding Greenland.

Russia, US, and Ukraine to Meet in Abu Dhabi

The first meeting of the trilateral working group on resolving the conflict, involving representatives of Russia, the United States, and Ukraine, will take place on January 23 in Abu Dhabi, Ushakov said.

The Russian negotiating team has already been formed, received specific instructions from Putin, and will depart for the United Arab Emirates in the coming hours. Ushakov said the delegation includes representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Russia. He added that Dmitriev and Witkoff will meet in Abu Dhabi.

At the same time, Abu Dhabi will also host talks between the heads of the bilateral economic group, involving only Russia and the United States. Those discussions will include Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Witkoff.

Zelensky said the trilateral meeting will last two days but provided no further details.