Key Highlights
- Late on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with three US envoys on a possible framework to end the conflict, the Kremlin said. The discussions came as President Donald Trump said that both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had expressed a willingness to reach a deal to end the nearly four-year war.
- Earlier in the day, Trump met Zelensky on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADUS envoys meet Putin in MoscowThe US delegation included Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with Josh Gruenbaum, recently appointed by Trump as a senior adviser to the Board of Peace, which is tasked with resolving international conflicts. Putin met the American envoys shortly before midnight in Moscow, after Trump said a deal was “reasonably close” and Witkoff indicated that negotiations had narrowed to a single unresolved issue. More from World Trump officially launches ‘Board of Peace' in Davos with 19 founding members 1 year of Trump 2.0: From tariffs to Venezuela, how US president shook global orderThe Kremlin said Putin was joined by foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and special envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
- Video footage released by the Kremlin showed Putin greeting the US envoys and inviting them to sit at a long oval table. Military signalling during negotiationsMinutes after the talks began, Russia announced a patrol by strategic bomber aircraft in what it described as a routine show of military strength.
- The defence ministry said Tu-22M3 long-range bombers flew for more than five hours over the Baltic Sea, escorted by Russian fighter jets. The aircraft have been used during the war to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, military targets and energy infrastructure. Territory and Nato remain sticking pointsTrump has repeatedly pushed for an end to the conflict, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two, and said this week that Putin and Zelensky would be “stupid” not to reach an agreement. While Witkoff did not specify the remaining point of disagreement, territorial control has consistently been cited by all sides.
- Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede the 20 per cent of the eastern Donetsk region it still controls, a condition Zelensky has rejected after years of heavy fighting. Quick ReadsView AllUS changing its nuclear playbook?
