Talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine are in their “final stage,” US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Thursday after meeting Ukraine’s delegation on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos a day prior.
Speaking at the Ukraine Breakfast, Witkoff said he was satisfied with the progress of negotiations and described the discussions as unusually intensive and detailed.
“I think we made a lot of progress,” Witkoff said, according to European Pravda.
Witkoff acknowledged early confusion in the process but said repeated engagement, including trips to Moscow, had been necessary. “I think it was important enough to go there,” he said.
Leaked recordings allegedly show Witkoff coaching Russian officials on presenting war goals as peace terms to Trump, a proposal that later became the basis for the current peace talks.
Witkoff also said he spoke late Wednesday with Ukraine’s negotiating team, which includes Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council; Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Presidential Office; and Davyd Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of the Servant of the People party.
He added that he feels “optimistic” about the possibility of ending the war.
“They’ve been amazing, by the way. You have an amazing negotiating team. We spent a lot of time together. I don’t know how much, but it could be 100 hours together since Geneva. It’s literally that comprehensive,” Witkoff said.
“And I think we’ve got it down to one issue. And we have discussed the duration of that issue, and that means it’s solvable. So, if both sides want to solve this, we’re going to get it solved. And I told [Trump] that last night,” he said.
Witkoff did not specify the key unresolved issue, whether it involves Ukraine’s territorial claims or Moscow’s demand that Kyiv withdraw troops from Ukrainian territories.
He also mentioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he is actively engaged on the issue.
“He’s available, he’s accessible. Whenever there’s a need to call him to get a steer, we get on the phone with him,” he said, adding that Trump is also always accessible.
Witkoff said his next stops will be Moscow and then Abu Dhabi, where working groups are expected to meet on military and economic issues. He added that postwar prosperity is a central element of the talks, pointing to discussions on Ukraine’s economic recovery, capital markets and job creation.
On Tuesday, Zelensky said Ukraine’s negotiations with the United States are ongoing and have not reached a dead end, despite an unusual lack of public comment from Washington after recent talks in Florida.
Zelensky was answering questions about a weekend meeting in Miami that concluded with no statement from the US side, unlike earlier talks framed publicly as advances.
“I don’t see a dead end,” Zelensky said, replying to a Kyiv Post question online. “Work on the documents is ongoing. The talks are constant, and they are definitely not about a stalemate.”
Zelensky described the current phase as the most difficult, often referred to as “the last mile,” but said that difficulty does not signal failure.
“The last stage is always the hardest,” he said. “But the talks are alive.”