U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said he and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow on Thursday for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.
“The Russians have invited us to come and that’s a significant statement from them,” Witkoff said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Jared and I will leave Thursday night and arrive in Moscow late at night.”
Witkoff said he would meet with Ukrainian officials in Davos ahead of the Moscow trip, then travel to the United Arab Emirates for additional meetings.
He said President Donald Trump remains focused on securing a peace agreement. “The Ukrainians have said that we’re 90% done, and I agree with them,” Witkoff said. “I think that we’ve made even more significant improvement.”
U.S. and Ukrainian officials have said progress has been made on a 20-point draft plan aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year. However, key disagreements remain, including over Putin’s demand for control of Ukrainian territory still held by Kyiv.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin would meet with Witkoff and Kushner, Interfax reported.
Putin received a draft of the plan earlier this month through aide Kirill Dmitriev, according to people familiar with the matter. The document, coordinated with European and Ukrainian counterparts, was submitted informally to give Russia time to provide feedback. It was not a finalized agreement.
Russian officials characterized the draft as a meaningful step, despite concerns about omitted or ambiguously worded provisions. Nonetheless, Russia noted the inclusion of key topics as a positive development.
Kushner, who met with Putin last month alongside Witkoff, was credited by sources with helping to structure negotiations.
Witkoff and Kushner also met with Dmitriev on Tuesday in Davos for two hours, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
Sources say the Kremlin views U.S. openness to recognizing Crimea and other disputed territories as a priority. Putin, according to one person with knowledge of the matter, is proceeding cautiously and may consider limited compromises.
Officially, Russia is awaiting results from recent trilateral negotiations. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday the Kremlin had not received updated documents from the ongoing talks.
Putin is expected to seek inclusion of what officials call the “Anchorage understandings,” stemming from his August summit with Trump in Alaska. Under that proposal, Russia wants full control of the Donetsk region and a freeze in fighting along current lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine has rejected calls to withdraw from entrenched positions in Donetsk that Russian forces have not occupied since hostilities began in 2014. Alternative U.S. proposals include creating a demilitarized or free economic zone under special administration, though the legal status of the area remains unclear.
Kyiv is also pursuing security guarantees from the U.S. and European partners to deter further Russian aggression.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was expected in Davos for possible talks with Trump, said he may cancel his visit unless agreements are ready to be signed on security and economic recovery. Zelenskyy is managing emergency responses to Russian airstrikes that have disrupted heating, electricity, and water services in Kyiv during severe winter conditions.
Russia continues to oppose the stationing of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops in Ukraine and seeks enforcement provisions allowing sanctions against parties that violate any peace terms. It is also requesting guarantees on the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine and on the status of the Orthodox Church, in line with European non-discrimination standards.
