“Territorial issue”: Kremlin announces new demands after talks with US
23 January 04:34
After Vladimir Putin’s meeting with the US delegation, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov announced the Kremlin’s position on further negotiations and the war against Ukraine. According to him, Moscow demands a “resolution of the territorial issue” and declares that it will continue military operations until a political and diplomatic settlement is reached. This was reported by Russian media, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
How the Kremlin assessed contacts with the Americans
Yuri Ushakov called Putin’s talks with US representatives “substantive, constructive, extremely frank, and trusting.” According to him, the meeting was attended by US Special Representative Steve Witkoff, as well as Jared Kushner and Josh Greenbaum.
Ushakov claims that the American side informed the Kremlin about contacts with Kyiv and European partners, as well as about the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Territorial issue” and continuation of the war
According to Ushakov, “without resolving the territorial issue, it is not worth counting on a long-term settlement.”
He added that Russia “will continue to pursue the goals of the ‘special military operation'” until agreements are reached through political and diplomatic means.
He also said that the parties discussed the “Peace Council,” Greenland, and a number of other international issues.
Abu Dhabi as a venue for the next stage
Ushakov announced an agreement to hold the first meeting of the trilateral working group on security issues with the participation of representatives of Russia, the US, and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
According to him, the Russian delegation traveling to the Emirates received specific instructions from Putin.
Separately, he said that a meeting of the heads of the US-Russia bilateral economic group, including Kirill Dmitriev and Stephen Witkoff, is also planned in Abu Dhabi.
Key points of Ushakov’s statement:
- The Kremlin has been informed about US contacts with Ukraine and Europe and Trump’s meeting with Zelensky;
- Moscow considers the territorial issue to be decisive for any “long-term settlement”;
- A trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi (Russia-US-Ukraine) has been agreed upon.
- The Russian delegation has clear instructions from Putin.
- Russia declares its intention to continue the war until political and diplomatic agreements are reached.
Trump: Zelensky is ready to conclude an agreement
Speaking in Davos the day before, Trump expressed confidence that the Ukrainian president is ready to conclude an agreement.
“I think I can say that we are pretty close to that,” he said.
The US president reiterated that the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for almost four years, must be stopped.
Zelensky’s meeting with Trump took place a few hours before US Special Representative Stephen Whitcoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
