1150 Berkowitz met with Kislyak on December 12, 2016, at Trump Tower. The meeting lasted only a few minutes, during which Kislyak indicated that he wanted Kushner to meet someone who had a direct line to Putin: Sergey Gorkov, the head of the Russian-government-owned bank Vnesheconombank (VEB). 1151 Kushner agreed to meet with Gorkov. The one-on-one meeting took place the next day, December 13, 2016, at the Colony Capital building in 1152 Manhattan, where Kushner had previously scheduled meetings. VEB was (and is) the subject of Department of Treasury economic sanctions imposed in 1153 response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Kushner did not, however, recall any discussion during his meeting with Gorkov about the sanctions against 1154 VEB or sanctions more generally. Kushner stated in an interview that he did not engage in any preparation for the meeting and that no one on the Transition 1155 Team even did a Google search for Gorkov’s name. At the start of the meeting, Gorkov presented Kushner with two gifts: a painting and a bag of soil from the town in Belarus where Kushner’s family 1156 originated. The accounts from Kushner and Gorkov differ as to whether the meeting was diplomatic or business in nature. Kushner told the Office that the meeting was diplomatic, with Gorkov expressing disappointment with U.S.-Russia relations under President Obama and hopes for improved relations with the 1157 incoming Administration. According to Kushner, although Gorkov told Kushner a little bit about his bank and made some statements about the Russian economy, the two did not discuss Kushner’s companies or private business 1158 dealings of any kind. (At the time of the meeting, Kushner Companies had a debt obligation coming due on the building it owned at 666 Fifth Avenue, and there had been public reporting both about efforts to secure lending on the property and possible conflicts of interest for Kushner arising out of his 1159 company’s borrowing from foreign lenders. ) In contrast, in a 2017 public statement, VEB suggested Gorkov met with Kushner in Kushner’s capacity as CEO of Kushner Companies for the purpose of discussing business, rather than as part of a diplomatic effort. In particular, VEB characterized Gorkov’s meeting with Kushner as part of a series of