Putin, Whitcoff Agree on Trilateral Talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi

Negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitcoff have concluded at the Kremlin. The meeting lasted more than three and a half hours. As expected, the main topic was a peace treaty for settling the conflict in Ukraine. As reported by Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, the conversation was constructive and extremely frank.

According to him, the meeting participants noted that without resolving the territorial issue, a long-term settlement cannot be expected.

Ushakov said: «The main thing that was again stated during these negotiations between our president and the Americans is that without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed in Anchorage, one should not expect to achieve a long-term settlement.»

As the presidential aide noted, Russia will continue to resolve the issue on the battlefield until a settlement is reached.

The meeting participants agreed that on Friday in Abu Dhabi, the first session of the trilateral working group on security issues will take place with the participation of representatives from Russia, the U.S., and Ukraine.

The presidential aide said: «It must be acknowledged that the Americans have done a lot to prepare for it, and they hope that this meeting [in Abu Dhabi] will be successful and open up prospects for progress on the entire range of issues related to ending the conflict and reaching an agreement on a peaceful settlement.»

Russia«s security negotiating group has already been formed and will fly to the UAE in the coming hours. According to Ushakov, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian General Staff, Igor Kostyukov, will lead the Russian negotiating group for contacts with the U.S. and Ukraine. Special Representative of the Russian President Kirill Dmitriev is also included. The Kremlin representatives received specific instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin before departing for Abu Dhabi.

Alongside the trilateral Russia-U.S.-Ukraine meeting, a meeting between representatives of Russia and the U.S. will take place.

Ushakov added: «In Abu Dhabi, the heads of the bilateral economic group, Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Whitcoff, will also meet.»

In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed topics regarding the Peace Council and Greenland with the U.S. representatives at the Kremlin meeting.

The presidential aide of the Russian Federation reported: «During the exchange of views on the Peace Council, our readiness to allocate $1 billion from the Russian assets frozen by the previous U.S. administration to the budget of this structure was emphasized. The remaining funds from our reserves frozen in the U.S. could be directed to the restoration of territories affected by hostilities, after a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine is concluded. The discussion on this topic will continue in the bilateral economic group.»

The topic of funding the Peace Council was announced in advance for discussion. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that our country is ready to allocate $1 billion from blocked funds to the new organization.

At the time when the negotiations were taking place, U.S. President Donald Trump supported the idea of using these funds as a contribution to the Peace Council. He stated this to journalists on board his plane while returning from Switzerland to the United States.

Following the meeting, representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States agreed to maintain close contacts on Ukrainian and other topics.