US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, announced that he plans to meet with Ukrainian officials on Wednesday before he and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, travel to Moscow on Thursday for talks with Kremlin head Vladimir Putin regarding the latest peace plan proposals aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, indicating that "documents were unofficially handed over to Moscow for review, allowing Putin to prepare feedback and suggest changes before Witkoff and Kushner's expected visit," writes UNN.
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"The Russians invited us to come, and that's a significant statement on their part," Witkoff said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. "Jared and I will depart Thursday evening and arrive in Moscow late at night."
US President Donald Trump remains "focused on this peace agreement, it's a very, very important part of his agenda," Witkoff said. He said he "plans to meet with Ukrainian officials later on Wednesday before traveling to Moscow, and then will head to the United Arab Emirates to participate in 'working groups.'"
"The Ukrainians said we've done 90%, and I agree with them. In fact, I think we've made even more progress," Witkoff said. "I think everyone involved in the process wants to see a peace agreement."
US and Ukrainian officials, the publication writes, stated that significant progress has been made on a 20-point plan to end Russia's full-scale invasion, which has lasted almost four years and has become the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. However, Kyiv and Moscow remain at an impasse on key issues, including Putin's demands for control over territory that belongs to Ukraine and remains under its control, the publication writes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin will meet with Witkoff and Kushner on Thursday.
Kremlin confirms Putin's meeting with Trump's envoy Witkoff21.01.26, 13:30 • [views_2532]
Putin received a draft peace plan earlier this month through his aide Kirill Dmitriev, which was agreed upon with Ukrainian and European counterparts, according to people familiar with the matter. The documents were unofficially handed over to Moscow for review, allowing Putin to prepare feedback and suggest changes before the expected visit of Witkoff and Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
"The Kremlin viewed the proposal as a significant step forward," sources said, "although it did not reach a final agreement." Many issues of interest to Moscow, the publication writes, "were either absent or formulated in a way that the Kremlin considered unsatisfactory." Nevertheless, the inclusion of these topics and the fact that work on them had begun were seen as positive, the publication notes.
Russia believes that Kushner, who joined Witkoff in talks with Putin last month, "helped structure the negotiation process and establish a framework that defines the course of discussions," sources said.
Witkoff and Kushner held a 2-hour meeting with Dmitriev in Davos on Tuesday, Russian media reported.
Kremlin officials, the publication writes, "attach particular importance to what they consider the US's readiness to recognize Crimea and other Ukrainian territories under Russian control." "This is a priority for Putin, which prompts him to act cautiously and signal openness to limited compromises," according to a person familiar with the matter.
Officially, the Kremlin is still awaiting the results of the latest negotiations involving American, Ukrainian, and Russian officials, which will be presented to Putin
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday that Russia "has not received any recent documents" regarding the negotiations held in recent weeks.
"Putin is expected to insist that what Moscow calls the 'Anchorage agreements,' reached at his August summit with Trump in Alaska, remain part of any peace plan." "Russia seeks under this proposal to gain all of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, while fighting will be frozen along the current lines of contact in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions," the publication writes.
Ukraine rejects demands to withdraw its troops from well-fortified areas of Donetsk, which Putin's military has been unable to occupy during fighting that has been ongoing since 2014.
US proposals envisioned turning the unoccupied territory into a demilitarized or free economic zone under special administration. It is unclear whether this territory would be de facto recognized as Russian under these plans, and what concessions, if any, Moscow is willing to offer in return.
Kyiv is developing robust security guarantees with its American and European partners to deter any future Russian attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to visit Davos for possible talks with Trump, although on Tuesday he stated that he would likely abandon plans to participate in the forum unless agreements on security guarantees and a plan for the country's economic revival with the US were signed.
Trump announces meeting with Zelensky in Davos21.01.26, 16:39 • [views_4920]