Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with a US delegation that were constructive and extremely frank, Putin’s aide Yuriy Ushakov said, according to the Kremlin.

Ushakov said the meeting focused on obtaining information about Washington’s contacts with Kiev and European countries, and on jointly defining the parameters for further steps. He said US President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner shared first-hand impressions from meetings in Davos, including talks between the US leader and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

Ushakov said the sides concluded that without resolving the territorial issue under the «Anchorage formula» agreed earlier, a long-term settlement of the conflict in Ukraine is impossible. He added that Russia is genuinely interested in resolving the Ukrainian crisis through political and diplomatic means, but as long as this does not happen, Russia will continue to pursue the objectives of the special military operation on the battlefield, where, he said, Russian forces hold the strategic initiative.

Ushakov also confirmed that a Russian delegation will be sent to trilateral talks with representatives of the United States and Ukraine in the UAE. The Russian delegation will be led by Admiral Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff, and will include senior Defense Ministry officials. Ushakov said the negotiators received specific instructions from Putin, taking into account the details of the conversation with the Americans, and will soon depart for Abu Dhabi.

At the same time, a bilateral working group on economic matters will meet in the UAE, led by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Witkoff. Ushakov said the group will continue discussing the use of Russian assets frozen in the United States to pay a $1 billion membership contribution to the «Peace Council,» and to fund the restoration of territories in Ukraine damaged during the fighting after the conflict ends.

Ushakov also said the Kremlin talks covered, at a conceptual level, the future development of Russia-US relations. He noted that US representatives are already making certain plans that could be implemented after the Ukraine conflict is settled.

Overall, Ushakov said the meeting was useful for both Moscow and Washington, and that the sides agreed to maintain close contacts on various issues, including the conflict in Ukraine.

The Kremlin talks began late on January 22 and lasted more than three and a half hours. Russia was represented by Ushakov and Dmitriev, while the US side included Witkoff, Kushner, and Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service of the General Services Administration. Dmitriev called the meeting «important.»

Witkoff arrived in Moscow for the seventh time, and Kushner for the second. They last met Putin in early December, but neither side disclosed any specific agreements. Gruenbaum took part in talks with Putin for the first time.