U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said he and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday to discuss a potential peace deal that would end the country’s nearly four-year war with Ukraine.
″[There’s been] lots of progress in the last six to eight weeks,’ Witkoff told CNBC, referring to a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
When asked about whether he believed Putin would come to a deal to end the war, Witkoff told CNBC that he is optimistic and has a ‘sense that everybody wants a peace there, that it’s time.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy will reportedly meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday in Davos, according to Axios.
‘I think Russia wants to make a deal, I think Ukraine wants to make a deal. I think I can say we are relatively close,’ Trump told the crowd at Davos.
This will not be Witkoff and Kushner’s first meeting with Putin in Moscow. The two held a five-hour meeting with Putin in December, though they were not able to yield any major breakthroughs.
Representatives of the U.S. and Russia held talks in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders are gathered for the World Economic Forum, according to Reuters, which added that Washington’s envoys also met with Ukrainian and European leaders. Envoys for Putin and Trump said the talks were ‘very positive’ and ‘constructive.’
‘Dialogue is constructive and more and more people understand the fairness of Russian position,’ Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said after the talks in Davos, Reuters reported.
Last month, Witkoff and Kushner spoke with Zelenskyy, who expressed optimism after the talks.
‘Today we had a very good conversation with President Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and [Jared Kushner]. I thank them for the constructive approach, the intensive work, and the kind words and Christmas greetings to the Ukrainian people,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X. ‘We are truly working 24/7 to bring closer the end of this brutal Russian war against Ukraine and to ensure that all documents and steps are realistic, effective, and reliable.’
Feb. 24 will mark four years since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sparked a war that has drawn international attention. Trump has blamed both Putin and Zelenskyy for prolonging the war, saying at various times that one of the two leaders was seemingly not ready to reach a deal.
While the issue of territory has long been a major sticking point, with Zelenskyy repeatedly opposing any land concessions, Witkoff told CNBC that ‘land deals’ remain on the table.
The Trump administration has worked to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine for over a year. Trump has met with both Zelenskyy and Putin, though those meetings did not appear to make major shifts to the peace process.