FILE PHOTO: U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called 'Coalition of the Willing' summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said he and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, and that he would meet with the Ukrainians later.
"We plan to discuss peace, and Ukraine and Russia," Witkoff told reporters one day after meeting with his Russian counterpart in Davos. "I'm hopeful... we need a peace."
Asked if he would meet with Ukrainian officials later, he said "we are" but gave no other details.
The TASS state news agency said, citing the Kremlin, said that Witkoff and Putin would meet in Moscow.
Witkoff had earlier told CNBC that Russia requested the meeting, adding: "I think that's a significant statement on their part."
The Kremlin said last week it was preparing to welcome Witkoff and Kushner to Moscow for peace talks on Ukraine, but that no dates had been set.
Asked if Putin was joining Trump's Board of Peace, Witkoff told CNBC "I think so," and reiterated that an invitation to do so had been extended to Putin.
Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov said last week that talks with U.S. officials on a resolution of the nearly four-year-old war with Russia would continue at the World Economic Forum this week in the Swiss resort of Davos.
Witkoff's meeting with Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Tuesday lasted for two hours, a source told Reuters.
The U.S. has held a number of separate talks with Russia, Kyiv and Europe over ending the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two, but no deal has yet been reached despite Trump's repeated promises.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
(Reporting by Yalahuzian Vitalii in Davos and Devika Nair in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Chizu Nomiyama )
