Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said he agrees to Russiaʼs participation in US President Donald Trumpʼs new "Peace Council", but only after consultations and on condition that Russiaʼs frozen assets are used.
He stated this to Russian propagandists.
According to Putin, he received a personal appeal from US President Donald Trump with a proposal to join the "Peace Council" and thanked him for the invitation. At the same time, he instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to study this initiative, consult with "partners", after which Moscow will make a final decision.
Putin said that Russia is ready to send a billion dollars to the “Peace Council”, using funds from Russian assets frozen in the United States. He also said that Moscow is discussing with Washington the possibility of using these frozen assets to “restore territories” in the war zone, probably referring to the occupied territories of Ukraine.
In addition, Putin confirmed that he plans to have contacts with Trumpʼs representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in the near future.
Donald Trumpʼs "Peace Council": What is known
On September 30, 2025, a new 20-point peace plan was presented in Washington, which envisages an end to the war in the Gaza Strip. It includes, among other things, the creation of a "Peace Council" with the US President and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, an amnesty for Hamas, and the status of a "de-radicalized zone that will not pose a threat to its neighbors" for Gaza.
Trump has already invited a number of world leaders to participate in the "Peace Council", including Argentine President Javier Milay and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The plan has drawn sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that the initiative for a "Peace Council" for Gaza was not agreed with Israel.
On January 19, it was reported that Trump had invited Putin to the “Peace Council”. The Kremlin said it was studying the proposal. On the same day, Trump also invited Lukashenko.
The Israeli media outlet Haaretz, citing a source among diplomats, wrote that Ukraine also received an invitation to join the Council.
At the same time, Norway and France refused to join the "Peace Council". The Norwegian Foreign Ministry stated that most European states cannot be part of a structure that "questions the role of NATO and existing international law".
The Financial Times, citing sources, reported that the US has a proposal to expand the mandate of the Peace Council to other hot spots, including Ukraine and Venezuela. One source said that the Trump administration sees the Peace Council as a kind of replacement for the UN to resolve conflicts in the world.
The creation of a separate “Peace Council” for the Russian-Ukrainian war is part of a 20-point peace agreement that Ukraine, the United States, and European partners are currently working on.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.