Russia’s Kirill Dmitriev to Brief Putin on Florida Talks

(MENAFN) Moscow confirmed Monday that a senior Kremlin official will brief Russian President Vladimir Putin on critical weekend negotiations held with American counterparts in Florida, marking the latest diplomatic push to resolve the protracted Ukraine conflict.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's chief spokesman, disclosed that presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev is traveling back to the Russian capital following intensive discussions with US representatives aimed at advancing peace proposals.

Asked if Dmitriev will travel to the Russian city of St. Petersburg following talks in the US, where Putin currently is, 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 confirmation follows Dmitriev's participation in what officials characterized as breakthrough meetings with the American delegation spanning two days, focused on implementing US President Donald Trump's Ukraine peace framework.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff signaled optimism about the diplomatic exchanges in a statement posted to X on Sunday. "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," Witkoff wrote on US social media company X on Sunday.

The American envoy had previously reported on separate diplomatic sessions involving US, Ukrainian, and European officials conducted over a three-day period, also held in Florida.

These back-channel discussions represent the most recent installment in an ongoing negotiation series launched in November, centered on establishing a comprehensive peace architecture to terminate the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war. The diplomatic roadmap stems from an initial US draft proposal that has undergone subsequent modifications.

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.

Addressing Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's absence from the scheduled multilateral gathering, Peskov dismissed concerns about bilateral relations between the two nations.

"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.

Azerbaijan's presidential administration previously informed state news agency Azertac that Aliyev will not be able to attend the informal CIS summit due to his busy work schedule.

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

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