MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will meet U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Thursday as President Donald Trump presses for a Ukraine peace deal and claims the sides are nearing an agreement. The talks come as Kyiv seeks U.S. security guarantees and Russia keeps striking Ukrainian cities, a reminder that any settlement will be tested as much on the ground as at the table, Jan. 22, 2026.
Putin said late Wednesday the envoys would continue dialogue on “the Ukrainian settlement” and discuss Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” and other elements of a Ukraine peace deal, including whether frozen Russian assets could be used for reconstruction, according to Reuters. The United States has held talks with Russia and separately with Kyiv and European leaders as it weighs competing draft proposals.
At Davos, Trump said “we’re reasonably close” to ending the war and planned to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as reported by Reuters at the World Economic Forum. He has also publicly faulted Ukraine for slow progress, prompting concern among some European allies that pressure for speed could spill into demands for concessions.
Zelenskiy arrived in Davos saying he wanted agreements with Washington on security guarantees and postwar reconstruction funding. Witkoff struck an upbeat tone: “If both sides want to solve this, we’re going to get it solved,” he said, according to a Reuters account of the Davos meetings. The Kremlin said the meeting would take place after 7 to 8 p.m. Moscow time, and critics of the “Board of Peace” proposal have said it could rival or undermine the United Nations.
Ukraine peace deal talks: the unresolved issues
Witkoff has said negotiations are down to one remaining issue, but U.S. officials have not publicly defined it. Al Jazeera reported that Zelenskiy has pointed to hard questions over territory held by Russia and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, along with the basics of any ceasefire — monitoring, enforcement and what happens if either side breaks it.
For Putin, the talks are a chance to press Russia’s view of “realities” on the ground. For Ukraine, officials warn that a Ukraine peace deal that freezes fighting without reliable guarantees could give Russia time to regroup. Continued attacks this week have reinforced those fears.
Past accords still shadow today’s diplomacy
Negotiations have faltered before. The Minsk agreements signed in 2014 and 2015 helped reduce violence at points but collapsed amid competing interpretations and weak enforcement, a European Council on Foreign Relations analysis argued.
In 2022, Russia and Ukraine exchanged draft texts after talks in Belarus and Istanbul that included Ukrainian neutrality and security guarantees. A Reuters primer published in May 2025 detailed how Kyiv wanted guarantors to be able to provide military assistance, while Russia insisted any such response required unanimity — effectively giving Moscow a veto.
Putin’s meeting with the U.S. envoys is expected late Thursday, with more diplomacy likely if both sides see room to move. Whether this Ukraine peace deal push becomes a breakthrough or another stalled framework may hinge on what Kyiv can accept, what Moscow will sign, and whether outside backers can enforce the terms.
