KYIV, Jan 22 (Reuters) – U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday said “a lot of progress” had been made in Ukraine peace talks and that negotiations were down to one last issue, as Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Switzerland for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Zelenskiy had said earlier this week that he would not attend the annual World Economic Forum in Davos and would remain in Kyiv to focus on the energy crisis in Ukraine, where Russian airstrikes against electricity infrastructure have left swathes of the capital and other regions without power.
Zelenskiy had said he would only travel to Davos if there was the opportunity to sign an agreement with Trump on resolving the nearly four-year war that included security guarantees and post-war reconstruction funding for Ukraine.
On Wednesday, however, Trump announced he would be meeting the Ukrainian leader in Davos. Zelenskiy’s spokesperson said in a statement that the Ukrainian leader would meet with Trump at 1 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) before delivering a speech at 2.30 p.m. (1330 GMT).
Witkoff has held talks in recent days with Ukrainian officials in Davos, following weekend discussions in Florida.
He was due in Moscow with fellow U.S. envoy Jared Kushner later on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the possible plan to end the conflict, Europe’s deadliest since World War Two.
The Kremlin said Putin’s meeting with Witkoff and Kushner will take place after 7 to 8 p.m. Moscow time (1600 to 1700 GMT).
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Dan Peleschuk and Ros Russell)
