US 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.
The United States has held talks with Russia, and separately with Kyiv and European leaders, on various different drafts of a plan for ending the war in Ukraine, but no deal has yet been reached despite Trump’s repeated promises to clinch one.
“If both sides want to solve this, we’re going to get it solved,” Witkoff told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
A Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman reacts after firing a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region on January 18, 2026. via REUTERS
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff walks past members of the media as he attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. REUTERS“I think we’ve made a lot of progress”, he added.
US President Donald Trump a day earlier told the Davos forum that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine would be “stupid” if they failed to come together and get a deal done.
Witkoff said he was headed to Moscow later in the day.
He spoke in an impromptu appearance a breakfast meeting on the future of Ukraine, with panelists including NATO Secretary Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Firefighters extinguish a fire on the roof of a house that broke out following a Russian drone attack in Oleksandrivka, Odesa region, Ukraine, on January 21, 2026 Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform via ZUMA / SplashNews.com
Burnt-out cars at the scene of a drone attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a residential neighborhood of Novaya Adygea on January 21, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.comRutte expressed confidence that Trump was committed to Ukrainian independence and sovereignty. “I have never doubted this,” Rutte said.
“What we need is to keep our eyes on the ball of Ukraine. Let’s not drop that ball”, he added.
