Putin meets U.S. envoys in Kremlin as Abu Dhabi trilateral talks loom

Russian President Vladimir Putin met late on Jan. 22 with three U.S. envoys in a meeting that Moscow said began shortly before midnight and lasted roughly three to four hours. The delegation, which arrived at Vnukovo airport at 10:40 p.m. local time, included special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum. Kremlin officials Yuri Ushakov and presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev attended for Russia.

The envoys were in Moscow to present a revised U.S.-drafted 20-point framework intended to end the full-scale war in Ukraine. The proposal is described as a streamlined version of an earlier 28-point plan that involved input from both sides. U.S. negotiators have framed the process as edging toward a conclusion: Steve Witkoff said negotiations were “down to one issue” and declared, “We are at the end now.” President Donald Trump said a deal was “reasonably close” and told Putin, when asked what message he had, “The war has to end.”

Kremlin aides called the conversation useful and “extremely frank.” Yuri Ushakov said Putin “sincerely” favours a diplomatic solution, but he reiterated Moscow’s position that a long-term settlement depends on resolving territorial questions “according to the formula agreed upon in Anchorage.” Ushakov warned that without such a territorial settlement there was “no hope” of durable peace. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin “highly values” the peacemaking efforts of the U.S. team.

Minutes after the meeting began, Russia’s defence ministry reported a patrol of Tu-22M3 long-range bombers over the Baltic Sea that lasted more than five hours, escorted by fighter jets. The Tu-22M3 has been used during the war to strike Ukrainian cities, military targets and energy infrastructure. The sortie highlighted a persistent dual-track approach: high-level diplomacy accompanied by displays of military capability.

The immediate follow-up is a trilateral security meeting scheduled for Jan. 23–24 in Abu Dhabi. Moscow named Admiral Igor Kostyukov to lead its security delegation, with Kirill Dmitriev handling economic discussions. Dmitriev is expected to meet separately with Witkoff to discuss reconstruction and post-war recovery financing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the draft deal was “nearly, nearly ready” and that Kyiv and Washington had agreed on post-war security guarantees.

The agenda underscores the central fault line: territorial arrangements and sovereignty. For Kyiv and many of its Western allies, any agreement must respect Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and provide robust security guarantees. For Moscow, Kremlin officials insist a settlement must enshrine territorial outcomes already advanced in prior talks with Washington. Those competing imperatives touch core principles of international law, raising difficult questions about precedent, enforcement and guarantees that the Abu Dhabi talks must confront.

Diplomacy faces structural obstacles: deep mutual distrust, the technical complexity of security guarantees, and the political calculus of leaders in Washington, Kyiv and Moscow. The convergence of late-night negotiations, an economic track tied to reconstruction, and near-simultaneous military flights reflects a fragile choreography of pressure and persuasion. How the Abu Dhabi meetings reconcile the territorial impasse will determine whether this moment produces a ceasefire framework or another round of fragile, short-lived arrangements.