Putin meeting set for Thursday, Witkoff says, with Ukraine ‘land deals’ in focus
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner attend a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 2, 2025.
Kristina Kormilitsyna | Via Reuters
A meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled for Thursday with discussions on “land deals” concerning Ukraine, as stated by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in an interview with CNBC.
“We have made significant progress in the past six to eight weeks,” Witkoff mentioned, adding that he and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, would meet with Ukrainian officials on Wednesday before meeting with top Russian officials.
“Jared and I will then meet with the Russians on Thursday evening,” Witkoff informed CNBC’s Sara Eisen at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He confirmed that Putin would be in attendance at the meeting, which was requested by the Kremlin, and that talks regarding a U.S.-led 20-point peace plan have been advancing.
“We are bringing all parties closer together… hopefully, we will have positive news to share soon,” he expressed.
“Our 20-point peace plan serves as the foundation, and we are refining and aligning it, focusing now on land deals — a longstanding issue that needs to be addressed. I believe we have some promising ideas in that regard, and hopefully, progress will be made,” he explained.
When asked if he believed Putin would agree to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, Witkoff replied: “I believe so.”
Previous attempts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have been unsuccessful, but pressure from the U.S. and Trump’s eagerness to resolve the ongoing conflict, which has resulted in numerous casualties among soldiers and civilians, have pushed both sides towards the negotiating table.
The main obstacles to a peace agreement have been Russia’s demand for Ukraine to cede its eastern Donbas region and Ukraine’s request for security assurances from Western allies to prevent future Russian aggression.
