Last night’s meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff went on for about four hours, as reported on by participant, Yury Ushakov, a senior diplomat who has served as a top Putin advisor for over a decade. As posted on the site of the Office of the President, his “Comment by Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov on Vladimir Putin’s meeting with U.S. President’s Special Envoy Steven Witkoff,” called the talks “exceptionally substantive, constructive, and, I would say, extremely frank and trusting.” Putin was provided “first-hand accounts” on the conversations the U.S. has had with Ukraine and Europe. Putin was accompanied by Ushakov and Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, while Witkoff was accompanied by Jared Kushner and White House advisor Josh Gruenbaum.
Ushakov also reported that the U.S. reaffirmed the Anchorage agreement on territory, stating, “Importantly, the participants in the conversation between the President of Russia and the Americans reaffirmed the fact that bringing about a lasting settlement would be unlikely without addressing the territorial issue based on the formula as agreed in Anchorage. Vladimir Putin has emphasized Russia’s sincere commitment to settling the Ukraine crisis by political and diplomatic means.” Short of that, the goals of Russia’s special military operation will be achieved, as “Russia’s Armed Forces hold the strategic initiative.”
He added: “There was an agreement to hold the first meeting of a trilateral working group on security matters ... in Abu Dhabi, with Russia, the United States and Ukraine. At the same time, Abu Dhabi will also serve as a venue for a meeting of the heads of a bilateral working group on economic matters ... and their respective heads are Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Witkoff.”
The Russian delegation will be headed by Adm. Igor Kostyukov, the Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff. (It was Kostyukov who, on January 1, handed over to a U.S. military attaché from the Embassy in Moscow the physical evidence of the targeting of Putin’s residence by drones.) Ushakov said that “the President of Russia has just given our delegation specific instructions” for the negotiations.
The Witkoff-Dmitriev bilateral group will deal with, among other things, the proposed use of more than $3 billion of Russian frozen assets, using $1 billion for rebuilding Gaza and the rest for “rebuilding the territories damaged during the hostilities.”
Finally, Ushakov stated: “I would like to point out that the further development of bilateral Russian-U.S. relations was discussed at the conceptual level, considering the huge potential of our countries for cooperation in various spheres. American representatives are already considering certain plans that could be implemented after the settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
