U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff says he and President Donald Trumps senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at securing a peace agreement to halt the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
According to Fox News, Witkoff told CNBC that there has been lots of progress in the last six to eight weeks, signaling that negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv may be entering a decisive phase. Asked whether he believes Putin is prepared to agree to terms that would end the conflict, Witkoff said he remains hopeful and has a sense that everybody wants a peace there, that its time.
The diplomatic push is expected to intensify on multiple fronts this week, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly set to meet President Trump in Davos on Thursday, according to Axios. At the World Economic Forum, Trump told attendees, "I think Russia wants to make a deal, I think Ukraine wants to make a deal. I think I can say we are relatively close," underscoring his long-stated belief that strong, direct leadership can end the war.
For Witkoff and Kushner, the Moscow visit will mark at least their second high-level encounter with Putin in recent months, following a five-hour meeting in December that failed to produce a breakthrough but laid groundwork for further talks. Their continued engagement reflects an approach that favors persistent, personal diplomacy over the kind of open-ended, bureaucratic process often favored by global institutions.
The latest round of contacts comes on the heels of discussions in Davos, Switzerland, where U.S. and Russian representatives met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, as reported by Reuters. Washingtons envoys also conferred with Ukrainian and European officials, with representatives for both Putin and Trump describing the talks as "very positive" and "constructive."
Russian officials have suggested that international sentiment is gradually shifting toward Moscows narrative, even as the Kremlin remains the aggressor in the conflict. "Dialogue is constructive and more and more people understand the fairness of Russian position," Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said after the Davos meetings, according to Reuters.
Kyiv, for its part, has publicly welcomed the intensified U.S. involvement led by Trumps team, while insisting that any settlement must be durable and credible. "Today we had a very good conversation with President Trumps Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and [Jared Kushner]. I thank them for the constructive approach, the intensive work, and the kind words and Christmas greetings to the Ukrainian people," Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding, "We are truly working 24/7 to bring closer the end of this brutal Russian war against Ukraine and to ensure that all documents and steps are realistic, effective, and reliable."
Feb. 24 will mark four years since Putins invasion of Ukraine ignited a conflict that has drained Western resources and exposed the limits of multilateral diplomacy. Trump has faulted both Putin and Zelenskyy for extending the war, arguing at various times that one of the two leaders has not yet been ready to finalize a deal.
Territorial control remains the most contentious issue, with Zelenskyy consistently rejecting any formal cession of Ukrainian land despite battlefield losses and mounting pressure. Witkoff nevertheless told CNBC that "land deals" remain on the table, a signal that Trumps envoys are at least willing to explore pragmatic arrangements that could stop the bloodshed and reduce the financial burden on U.S. taxpayers.
The Trump administration has been working for more than a year to broker a settlement between Russia and Ukraine, relying on direct engagement with both Putin and Zelenskyy even when earlier meetings produced no dramatic shifts. As the war approaches its fourth anniversary, the latest flurry of diplomacy suggests that Trumps team is determined to test whether firm, deal-focused negotiations can achieve what years of conventional Western strategy have not: a peace that protects U.S. interests, restores stability, and avoids an open-ended commitment of American money and military hardware.
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