A US delegation is expected in Moscow on Thursday for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin
The Ukraine peace talks have been narrowed down to a single unresolved issue, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who said he would travel to Moscow later on Thursday. The trip was later confirmed by the Kremlin.
Speaking at an impromptu ‘Ukraine Breakfast’ on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Witkoff said he felt “encouraged” and “optimistic” about the progress so far.
“If both sides want to solve this, we’re going to get it solved. I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” he said. “I think we’ve got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it’s solvable.”
Witkoff did not specify the remaining sticking point, but he had previously suggested it relates to territory. Russia has demanded that Ukraine abandon claims to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions – four territories that joined Russia in 2022 following referendums. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has rejected recognizing the regions as part of Russia, though he said last month that a referendum on possible territorial concessions could be held.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Moscow and Kiev were “reasonably close” to a settlement and “at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done.” He said he expects the conflict to end “pretty soon,” adding that it was the one conflict he had thought would be easy to resolve but had “turned out to be the most difficult.” Trump also announced a meeting with Zelensky in Davos on Thursday. Zelensky’s spokesperson, Sergey Nikiforov, earlier confirmed the Ukrainian leader’s arrival and said his meeting with Trump is set for noon GMT.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday morning that the US delegation, which will also include Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, is expected in Moscow by 8 pm local time (5 pm GMT), with a meeting with Putin scheduled immediately afterward. He added that the talks will cover the Ukrainian settlement and “other related topics,” but declined to comment on the progress of negotiations.
At a Thursday morning meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Putin revealed that he also plans to discuss contributing funds to Trump’s Board of Peace with the US delegation – an initiative created to support Gaza’s recovery after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Trump invited dozens of nations to join the board, including Russia. Putin suggested using Russian assets frozen in the US for the contribution.
“We have discussed such options previously with representatives of the US administration, and a meeting and discussion on this topic is planned for later today in Moscow,” Putin stated.
