Davos, Jan 21 (.) US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Witkoff said, “Well, look, ⁠we have to go meet him on Thursday.”
Witkoff said he will travel to Moscow on Thursday with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for talks with President Putin, as Washington pushes forward with discussions on ending the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Witkoff said the delegation plans to discuss a proposed 20-point framework to end the war, which he said is more than 90% complete.
According to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, Putin received a draft of the peace plan earlier this month through his aide Kirill Dmitriev.
The document was passed to Moscow informally for review, allowing the Kremlin to prepare feedback and propose changes ahead of the expected meeting between President Putin and Witkoff and Kushner.
Witkoff said he believes President Putin wants a peace agreement with Ukraine, even as Moscow has shown no public willingness to compromise on key demands, including control over parts of eastern Ukraine.
“Everyone wants to get to a peace deal,” Witkoff said. Asked about Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that have left large parts of Kyiv without electricity, heating and running water in freezing temperatures, Witkoff said: “They are in a war, they are shooting at each other.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned talks. “We expect such a meeting tomorrow; it’s on the president’s schedule,” the Kremlin spokesman said. “It will take place tomorrow,” he told TASS.
Kyiv is seeking clarity from its allies on post-war security guarantees.
According to Witkoff, the meeting is taking place at Russia’s request. “They’ve asked for the meeting. The Russians have invited us to come. And that’s a significant statement from them… So I think everybody is embedded in the process and wants to see a peace deal happen.”
Witkoff said the talks will be based on Washington’s 20-point peace plan. “We’re massaging it and harmonizing it, and I think we’re down to land deals now – that’s been the 800lb elephant in the room – and I think we have some very, very good ideas around that,” he stated.
Witkoff’s comments come following his meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, a key special envoy to Putin, in Davos, on Tuesday, after the Kremlin said Moscow intended to pass “certain information” to the US on the settlement talks.
Witkoff met Putin at least six times in person in 2025 as part of efforts to advance peace talks, with the most recent five-hour talks taking place on December 2. At the time, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said that “no compromises have been found as of yet,” adding that “some American proposals are acceptable to Russia… others are not.”
Trump said in Davos that he would be meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Thursday.
He said he believed that both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to strike a deal to end the nearly four-year conflict, and he urged them to make it happen.
“I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done,” he said. “And if they don’t, they’re stupid. That goes for both of them. And I know they’re not stupid. But if they don’t get this done, they are stupid.”
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