Kremlin representative Kirill Dmitriev is anticipated to hold discussions with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, as part of the ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine, according to reports from Reuters and Axios.
As the head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund, Dmitriev has become a significant mediator in covert dialogues with the Trump administration. This meeting in Switzerland will mark his fifth known interaction with Witkoff, who was initially assigned to initiate peace negotiations regarding Gaza, since Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. President in January 2025.
Kushner, who is a real estate businessman and son-in-law of Trump, has recently surfaced in media reports concerning negotiations for peace in Ukraine. In December, he traveled to Moscow alongside Witkoff to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S.-Russia discussions at Davos are expected to center around the peace proposal put forward by the Trump administration in November, which has encountered obstacles due to ongoing disagreements between Russia and Ukraine, as reported by Axios.
It remains uncertain whether Trump, who is also set to attend the World Economic Forum, will engage in these discussions. The U.S. President has recently stated that he considers Ukraine to be the primary hindrance to progress in peace negotiations, showcasing his varied stance on the conflict, where at times he has blamed both Russia and Ukraine for the prolonged fighting.
Neither the Kremlin nor the White House has provided any official comments on the anticipated meeting involving Dmitriev, Witkoff, and Kushner in Davos.
On Sunday, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s national security chief and lead negotiator, mentioned that his team had spent the weekend in talks with Witkoff, Kushner, and other officials from the Trump administration to deliberate on the U.S. peace initiative.
“We have agreed to continue collaborative efforts at the team level during the next round of discussions in Davos,” Umerov wrote on X.
In a nightly address on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his doubts regarding Russia’s motives in the negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, accusing Moscow of focusing on missile attacks and energy outages rather than pursuing genuine peace.
Meanwhile, Putin has commended his military’s recent successes on the battlefield and has indicated his resolve to sustain the conflict as the war nears its fourth anniversary. Putin’s principal demand involves securing complete Russian control over the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
