The United States has said negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine are close to a breakthrough, with Washington’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, confirming that “a lot of progress” has been made and that talks are now down to one final unresolved issue.
Witkoff spoke on Thursday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Switzerland for high-level talks with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, marking a sudden shift in Zelenskiy’s earlier position.
Earlier in the week, the Ukrainian leader had said he would not attend the annual gathering, insisting he would remain in Kyiv to address Ukraine’s worsening energy crisis. Russian airstrikes on electricity infrastructure have left large parts of the capital and several other regions without power.
Zelenskiy had also made clear that any trip to Davos would only happen if there was a concrete opportunity to sign an agreement with President Trump on resolving the nearly four-year-old war. Such an agreement, he said, would have to include firm security guarantees for Ukraine as well as funding for post-war reconstruction.
However, on Wednesday, President Trump announced that he would be meeting Zelenskiy in Davos, reversing expectations that the Ukrainian leader would stay away from the summit.
In a statement, Zelenskiy’s spokesperson confirmed that the two leaders are scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. local time (1200 GMT), after which the Ukrainian president will deliver a speech at the forum at 2.30 p.m.
Witkoff has been holding talks with Ukrainian officials in Davos in recent days, following earlier discussions over the weekend in Florida as Washington intensifies diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to an end.
Later on Thursday, Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow alongside fellow US envoy Jared Kushner for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a possible framework to end the war, which remains Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
The Kremlin has confirmed that President Putin’s meeting with Witkoff and Kushner is scheduled to take place after 7 to 8 p.m. Moscow time (1600 to 1700 GMT).
Boluwatife Enome
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