Putin aide to report on Russia-US talks in Florida on returning to Moscow: Kremlin

ISTANBUL

The Kremlin on Monday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Kirill Dmitriev will report on talks he held over the weekend with American officials in the US state of Florida on his return to Moscow.

Asked if Dmitriev will travel to the Russian city of St. Petersburg following talks in the US, where Putin currently is, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that he is “supposed to fly to Moscow.”

“He still has a long way to go, but when he arrives, he'll report to the president,” Peskov added.

The spokesman’s remarks came after the Russian presidential aide held “productive and constructive” meetings with the American delegation over the past two days to advance US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace plan.

“Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine. Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security,” Special Envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on US social media company X on Sunday.

Earlier, Witkoff also reported on "productive" meetings held between US, Ukrainian, and European representatives over the past three days, which also took place in Florida.

Both meetings are the latest in a series of negotiations since November focused on a peace framework to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war, which is based on a draft proposal by the US that has since been refined.

Putin departed for St. Petersburg on Sunday, where he took part in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, the highest supranational body in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

The Russian president is also taking part in an informal meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in St. Petersburg on Monday.

Commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s inability to attend the upcoming meeting, Peskov said that Moscow is “completely understanding” on the matter.

“We are completely understanding; heads of state do have very busy schedules, especially in December, on the eve of the New Year,” Peskov said, adding that this does not hinder the Moscow-Baku ties and that Russia continues to develop its partnership with Azerbaijan.

Earlier, Azerbaijan’s presidential administration told the state news agency Azertac that Aliyev will not be able to attend the informal CIS summit due to his busy work schedule.

It noted that Azerbaijan regularly participates in official CIS summits and attaches great importance to cooperation within the regional intergovernmental organization.