Putin to Meet Trump’s Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Ukraine Talks

Moscow - Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will meet US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and entrepreneur Jared Kushner later on Thursday to continue discussions on the Ukraine conflict, according to local media reports.

Speaking at a meeting with permanent members of Russia’s Security Council, Putin said the meeting with the US representatives would take place after his talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Russia’s leading news agency TASS reported.

Putin stated that Witkoff and Kushner will visit Moscow to “continue the dialogue on the Ukrainian settlement.” He also said he plans to discuss issues related to Russia’s possible participation in the proposed Board of Peace, an initiative to which Trump has invited him.

Earlier, Witkoff confirmed his plans to visit Moscow on Thursday and said that Jared Kushner, who had attended previous meetings between Putin and US officials, would accompany him on the trip.

Ahead of their visit to Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner met Russian President’s special representative and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on January 20. The closed-door meeting between Russian and US officials reportedly lasted more than two hours and was described by Witkoff as “very positive,” according to TASS.

The proposed Board of Peace, as outlined by Trump, is intended to serve as a platform bringing global leaders together to resolve conflicts directly. Trump has argued that existing international institutions have often been too slow or ineffective in preventing or ending wars.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that if Russia genuinely wanted to end the war, it would focus on diplomacy rather than missile strikes, blackouts, or attempts to damage Ukraine’s nuclear power infrastructure.

Zelensky said intelligence indicated that Russia had carried out reconnaissance of potential strike sites, adding that this clearly demonstrated that “diplomacy is not a priority for Russia.”

In his address to the nation, Zelensky said Russia’s primary target remains Ukraine’s energy sector. He noted that nearly 58,000 workers are engaged around the clock in repairing power grids, generation facilities and heating networks, with support from Ukrzaliznytsia and other state-owned companies.

“For Kyiv, where the situation is very difficult, an additional 50 repair crews from across the country have been deployed,” he said, adding that many homes remain without heating and are being attended to individually. He also highlighted difficult conditions in the Kyiv region, particularly in the north and in the Boryspil district, as well as in frontline and border regions such as Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Dnipro and Zaporizhia, where repair efforts are hampered by constant shelling.

Zelensky further said the Ukrainian delegation, including National Security and Defence Council head Rustem Umerov, had briefed him on meetings with representatives of President Trump.

“There have already been several rounds of negotiations. They are working on documents needed to end the war,” Zelensky said, stressing the importance of keeping the US side fully informed about the situation in Ukraine and ongoing Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.

With inputs from IANS