Trump's envoys Witkoff, Kushner to meet Putin in Moscow
Editor's note: The story is being updated.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said he and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would travel to Moscow on Jan. 22 for a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"The Russians have invited us to come, and that's a significant statement from them," Witkoff said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Davos on Jan. 21, amid a Washington-led push to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow.
The U.S. envoy said that Trump remains "focused on that peace deal" and that "even more significant improvement" has been made toward a settlement.
"I think everybody is embedded in the process and wants to see a peace deal happen," he added.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed plans for a meeting between Putin and Witkoff on Jan. 22, state news agency TASS reported.
The Kremlin previously said it was ready to host Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow to continue discussions on peace efforts in Ukraine, though no date has been set until now.
Talking to CNBC, Witkoff also noted he thinks Russia will join Trump's Board of Peace, a new body designed to oversee Gaza and possibly other conflict regions.
Dozens of countries, including Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, have been invited to join the body. Few governments have confirmed interest, and both Moscow and Kyiv said they are still reviewing the proposal.
Earlier this week, Witkoff met Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss the Washington-backed 20-point peace deal.
Both officials described the two-hour meeting as constructive. The talks followed discussions Ukrainian officials led with Witkoff and other American negotiators in the U.S. over the weekend.
Zelensky was scheduled to attend the Davos forum as well, but has shelved the plans amid an escalating energy crisis in Ukraine caused by Russian aerial strikes.
Kyiv has said that the peace proposal, drafted in a series of talks among Ukrainian and Western officials, is "90% ready," even as some of the most contentious points, such as the fate of the partially-occupied Donbas region, remain unresolved.
Ukraine has repeatedly rejected Moscow's demand for a Ukrainian withdrawal from the eastern region, including from areas that Russian troops have been unable to capture.
According to Bloomberg's sources, the Kremlin had received a draft peace plan earlier in January through Dmitriev to review it ahead of the meeting with Witkoff and Kushner.
The two U.S. envoys previously met with Putin and his top aides in Moscow in early December, without achieving a breakthrough.
Witkoff has been a key player in Trump's outreach to Moscow. The real estate mogul-turned-diplomat has drawn scrutiny for views favoring Russia's positions and for a leaked conversation in which he advised a Russian official on how to sway the White House.
