Kremlin says Putin to meet US envoy Witkoff in Moscow on Thursday

ISTANBUL

The Kremlin on Wednesday said Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Thursday.

"We expect such a meeting tomorrow. It is on the president's schedule," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency TASS.

"We’ll be seeing the Russians, Jared (Kushner) and I, sometime on Thursday evening," Witkoff earlier told CNBC, referring to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Speaking to the American news channel at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Witkoff said there has been "lots of progress in the last six to eight weeks" with regards to a settlement on Ukraine, and that he and Kushner will meet Ukrainian officials on Wednesday evening before meeting top Russian officials.

He said the Kremlin had requested the talks, and they hopefully will have "something good to announce soon."

Both Steve and Kushner have held multiple meetings with Putin, as well as Ukrainian delegations, aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, which is set to enter its fifth year next month.

On Tuesday, Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev told journalists that he had "constructive" talks with Witkoff and Kushner after their meeting on the sidelines of the WEF. ​​​​​​​

A Ukrainian delegation, including Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, and National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov also arrived in Davos on Tuesday, following two days of consultations with US officials in Miami over the weekend.