Talks aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia have made significant progress and are now focused on a single unresolved issue, according to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday, January 22nd—ahead of a trip to Russia.
Speaking at a Ukrainian event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Witkoff said negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow had advanced substantially. “
I think we’ve got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it’s solvable.
Witkoff added that if both sides were willing to resolve the matter, an agreement could be reached.
Asked to specify the remaining point of contention, Witkoff declined to comment, saying he would provide details after his visit to Russia.
Later on Thursday, Witkoff is due to travel to Moscow with Jared Kushner, U.S. president Donald Trump’s son-in-law. He said the delegation would not remain overnight in the Russian capital and would instead continue discussions in Abu Dhabi, where talks would proceed within “military-to-military” working groups. The Kremlin confirmed this week that Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Witkoff during the visit.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in December that negotiations had previously faced two major obstacles: the future status of territory currently held by Russia and areas still under Kyiv’s control that Moscow claims, as well as control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Trump said on Wednesday that he believed both Putin and Zelensky were close to reaching an agreement.
