Moscow [Russia], September 6 : Russian President Vladimir Putin held substantive, constructive and extremely frank talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in a trusting atmosphere in Moscow, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said early Sunday morning, according to Russia's Tass news agency.
Ushakov said the talks, which centred on extremely serious issues, were held in a working-format setting and also took place informally over dinner.
Putin reiterated Moscow's willingness to work with the United States towards finding political and diplomatic solutions to issues concerning Ukraine, reports Xinhua news agency.
Ushakov said the Russian side presented its clear and comprehensive assessment of the situation developing amid the special military operation.
"In particular, note was taken of the real advances made by the Russian army within the combat zone; confidence was expressed in achieving the stated objectives, and the need to eliminate all root causes of the conflict was emphasised," he noted.
The talks also covered matters beyond efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis, with economic issues and possible large-scale projects that could benefit both Russia and the US discussed in detail, Ushakov said.
Ushakov described the talks as timely and highly beneficial for both sides. He said it was agreed that the heads of state of Russia and the US would continue maintaining personal contact, while engagement through Witkoff and Kushner would also proceed.
The talks lasted three hours and 10 minutes, Tass reported.
Ushakov said the US envoys had agreed to convey during their scheduled contacts in Kyiv the following day the observations and assessments they received directly from Putin on the prospects of achieving a durable peaceful settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
Earlier, Putin had ordered a three-day pause in strikes against Kyiv as preparations were underway for contacts with the US envoys, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.
"The meeting with President Putin will indeed take place, and there will be talks. As a rule, such meetings have been quite lengthy in the past. Let us wait and see. We will certainly keep you informed," Peskov told journalists.
He also advised against making predictions about possible settlement proposals and called for waiting for the outcome of Putin's talks with the US negotiators.