Trump's envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks with Putin
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Jan. 22.
The U.S. delegation also included White House staffer Josh Gruenbaum, who has taken part in previous negotiations with representatives from Ukraine. The three Americans were greeted at the Kremlin by Putin and his top aides, Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev.
The visit is part of Washington's efforts to broker an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is soon to reach its fourth anniversary.
As Trump's year-long peace push failed to achieve a breakthrough, Witkoff, who was in Davos this week for the World Economic Forum, said that the talks have reached their final stage and are "down to one issue," without specifying the final sticking point.
"We are at the end now, and I actually am optimistic," Witkoff said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 22 that a two-day trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia is scheduled to begin on Jan. 23 in the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. envoys are expected to present Putin with a 20-point peace framework drafted over the past weeks during a series of talks among Ukrainian and Western officials. The document was based on an initial 28-point plan co-drafted by Russia that heavily favored Moscow.
According to Bloomberg, a draft of the revised peace plan was passed to the Kremlin earlier in January via Dmitriev, a Russian economic envoy who met Witkoff in Davos on Jan. 20.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Witkoff's optimistic assessment of the negotiations.
"It's clear that the Russian president highly values the peacemaking efforts of President Trump personally and his team, including Special Envoy Witkoff," Peskov told journalists.
Witkoff also told reporters at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 22 that he plans to visit Kyiv "soon," marking his first trip to the Ukrainian capital.
Zelensky previously said the peace deal is "90% ready," even as some of the most thorny issues — including Moscow's demand that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region — remain unresolved.
Zelensky met with Trump earlier on Jan. 22 in Davos, a meeting the U.S. president called "very good." The Ukrainian leader highlighted the need to strengthen air defenses amid Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Also on the agenda of the Kremlin talks may be Trump's invitation for Putin to join his new Board of Peace, a body meant to oversee Gaza and potentially other conflict regions around the world.
Dozens of countries, including Ukraine and Belarus, have been invited to join the Board, a body that, according to observers, could serve as Trump's alternative to the U.N., an organization he has repeatedly criticized.
Putin, who, as the U.S. president claimed, accepted the invitation, floated the idea of paying $1 billion needed to secure a permanent seat on the Trump-chaired body with Russian frozen assets held by the United States.
