US special envoy Steve Witkoff made upbeat remarks on ongoing Ukraine peace efforts at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 22, telling a breakfast meeting that “we are at the end now. I’m actually optimistic.”
His comments came as diplomacy looked to once again speed up.
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are due to meet in Davos shortly, and Witkoff said he would depart for Moscow later in the day.
"I think we've got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it's solvable. So, if both sides want to solve this, we're going to get it solved," Witkoff said.
He did not elaborate on what the sticking point was, but his comments contrasted with remarks by Trump the previous day, who ruminated on the difficulties of the peace talks.
“What happens is, oftentimes we’ll have a deal with Russia, Russia’s set, and President Zelenskyy will not do it. You saw that when he was in the Oval Office. I was not happy. And then, we’ll have President Zelenskyy wants to make a deal and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin doesn’t want to make a deal,” Trump said.
Previously, Zelenskyy had appeared to link attendance in Davos to signing agreements with the United States and other partners on air defense and other issues. It’s not clear if this will happen.
Ukraine’s current delegation in Davos is led by Rustem Umerov, who said he’d held meetings there with Witkoff on economic development, post-war recovery, and security guarantees.
On January 17-18, a Ukrainian delegation met with US representatives in Miami, where they reportedly discussed economic assistance of up to $800 billion.
The talks in Davos, a picturesque Swiss skiing resort that has hosted the WEF since 1971, come amid a relentless Russian missile and drone campaign targeting Ukrainian energy facilities.
The Russian strikes have left up to 1 million people without light and heat during sub-zero temperatures.
