Kremlin says nearly $5b in Russian assets frozen in US

MOSCOW -- Around five billion US dollars in Russian assets were frozen in the United States by the previous administration, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

"As for the money that was seized in the United States, I won't name the exact amount, but I will say that it is slightly less than five billion dollars," Peskov told reporters.

He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken about allocating one billion dollars of the assets to the Board of Peace for Gaza, and some could be used to restore areas damaged during the Ukraine conflict.

Peskov said a Russian security working group received instructions from Putin last night and will participate in trilateral talks with US and Ukrainian teams in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The trilateral security working group, including Russian, US, and Ukrainian officials, will hold its first session in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said following the talks between Putin and a US delegation in the Kremlin.

He noted that it is a "very important condition" for Russia that Ukrainian armed forces must leave the Donbas region.