US says Russia talks joined by Bessent were constructive

Sam Kim, Bloomberg News on Jan 31, 2026

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A U.S. delegation including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had “productive and constructive meetings” with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy on Saturday in Florida, an American negotiator said.

“We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine,” U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said in a social media post. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Josh Gruenbaum, a White House senior adviser, also attended the talks with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, he said.

U.S., Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had been scheduled to resume indirect three-way negotiations in Abu Dhabi. The three sides met last weekend in an effort to find a path to end Russia’s war against Ukraine that began four years ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a video address Saturday that he expects his country’s negotiators to hold more talks with the U.S. next week.