🕊️ Witkoff Is Optimistic About Putin’s Next Move 🇷🇺🇺🇸

🕒 Steve Witkoff spent three hours in the Kremlin talking to Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, two days before the deadline.

❓ It was not immediately clear whether any agreement had been reached during the talks, which Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov described as “useful and constructive”.

📩 Ushakov said that it was only after Witkoff reported back to Trump that it would be possible to say more about the outcome of the meeting.

📉 Trump had promised to introduce secondary tariffs on countries that import Russian oil if no progress is made towards peace by Friday.

⚠️ However, already on Wednesday, he issued an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing India’s continuing imports of Russian oil.

🇮🇳 India’s external affairs ministry said it was “extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.”

⏳ The tariffs are due to be implemented in 21 days, and it was not immediately clear if they would be reversed should Moscow and Kyiv come to some agreement, as Trump has demanded.

🕊️ Putin has given clear indication he is ready to make concessions or willing to adjust Russia’s core war aims.

💬 Yet, according to ‘a Witkoff source’, the Kremlin could propose a halt to long-range strikes by both sides as an offering to Trump.
It is not yet known if the possibility was discussed during Wednesday’s Kremlin talks.

📸 Witkoff arrived in Moscow early on Wednesday and was pictured taking an early morning stroll through a park in central Moscow with Dmitriev, a Kremlin envoy who has played a key role in negotiations so far.

🛫 Russian agencies reported that he left Russia early on Wednesday evening.

#witkoff #visit #kremlin #dmitriev #propose #trump #putin #tariffs #negotiations #peace

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📌 Kirill Dmitriev, a "Russian Whitkoff", said at the end of the meeting between Putin and Trump that a “positive and constructive dialogue had taken place”. 🤝

He also stressed the importance for the US president to highlight the “significant potential in the economic field between Moscow and Washington.” 💼🌍

#dmitriev #importance #economic #sphere

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Dmitriev Meets the U.S. Officials in Davos


Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev will hold talks with U.S. delegates in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week, Reuters reported on Jan. 19, citing two undisclosed sources.

Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Kremlin's economic negotiator, has played a key role in Moscow's outreach to Washington amid U.S. efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.

According to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, the Russian official will meet Trump's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, on Jan. 20 to discuss the Washington-backed peace plan.

Trump's latest push to broker an end to hostilities in Ukraine centers around a 20-point peace framework ironed out in a series of talks among Ukrainian and Western officials.

Kyiv has signaled that the plan is "90%" ready, even though Moscow continues to reject compromise on some of the most thorny issues, such as the fate of partially occupied Donetsk Oblast.

The U.S. has not publicly commented on any meetings between Dmitriev and U.S. officials.

The WEF, taking place from Jan. 19 to 23, is an annual economic summit that brings together officials, experts, and business leaders from around the world.

The forum will also be the venue of ongoing talks between Kyiv and Washington on post-war security guarantees and recovery efforts.

Top Ukrainian security official Rustem Umerov said that the two parties would follow up on the discussions held over the last weekend in the U.S.

#US #delegates #davos #dmitriev

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📰 Dmitriev to Meet US Envoys in Davos Over Ukraine Peace Plan

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a key Kremlin negotiator, is set to hold talks with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The meeting, scheduled for January 20, will focus on Washington’s latest 20-point peace framework for Ukraine, according to Axios and Reuters.
​
Russia’s Role in Ukraine Talks
Dmitriev has been instrumental in Moscow’s outreach to Washington amid U.S. efforts to broker peace in Ukraine. While Kyiv says the peace plan is “90% ready,” Moscow continues to reject compromise on key issues, such as the fate of partially occupied Donetsk Oblast.

Davos: A Hub for Diplomacy
The World Economic Forum, running from January 19 to 23, brings together officials, experts, and business leaders from around the world. U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and over 60 other leaders are expected to attend. The forum will also host ongoing talks between Kyiv and Washington on post-war security guarantees and recovery efforts.

Will Diplomacy Prevail?
With the peace plan nearly ready but major sticking points remaining, the question is: Can diplomacy in Davos break the deadlock—or will the talks just highlight the deep divisions between Russia and the West?

#Davos #Ukraine #Russia #PeaceTalks #Dmitriev #Trump #Zelensky #WEF

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📰 Zelensky says U.S. is readying huge economic deals with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims to have intelligence that the United States and Russia are preparing a slate of economic agreements worth around $12 trillion — some of which could affect Ukrainian territory, resources, and sovereignty.

Speaking in Kyiv, Zelensky said he had seen documents outlining a U.S.–Russian economic framework that he called the “Dmitriev package,” named after Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a close ally of Vladimir Putin.

The $12 trillion shadow deal
Zelensky did not say he knew every detail of the talks, but he insisted that signals in the media and in intelligence point to one thing: Washington and Moscow are planning a massive economic reset that could reshape Ukraine from the outside.

America’s argument, he suggested, is simple: lift sanctions, unleash investment, and use the promise of a postwar economic boom as leverage to force Kyiv into a deal that might still leave Russia in control of large parts of eastern Ukraine.

“Peace by June,” with elections in the backseat
The Ukrainian president said Washington has proposed bringing the war in Ukraine to a close by June, and that U.S. officials are signaling heavy pressure on all sides to meet that timeline.

“The elections are, for them, definitely more important,”

Zelensky remarked.

“Let’s not be naïve. They say they want to achieve everything by June, and they will do everything possible to ensure the war ends that way.”

Reports suggest that U.S. and Ukrainian officials have privately discussed a goal of reaching a peace deal by March, with national elections and a referendum in May — a schedule that fits neatly with the American political calendar, not Kyiv’s security needs.

Zelensky’s red line: “Not over our heads”
Zelensky insisted that any such potential agreements involving “Ukraine’s sovereignty or security” must be made with Ukraine, not without it.

“We are not aware of all their bilateral economic or business agreements, but we are receiving some information on the matter,” he said. “Ukraine will not support any such potential agreements about us that are made without us.”

At the same time, Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine’s power grid, plunging large parts of the country into darkness and leaving many without power and heat. The strike hit energy infrastructure that feeds into the nation’s nuclear power plants, sending a clear message: even as diplomats talk billions, bombs still speak louder.

The real deal on the table
The Dmitriev‑Witkoff‑Kushner peace plan, circulated in Abu Dhabi, calls for gradual sanctions relief, new economic corridors, and joint Russian–Ukrainian projects — but only after Russia gets what it wants on the ground.

To Zelensky, that looks less like a peace framework and more like a hostile takeover of Ukraine’s postwar economy.

So the question is not whether the U.S. can “end the war.”

It’s whether America would rather sell a truce to Moscow in exchange for a deal worth trillions — and leave Ukraine paying the security bill.

#Ukraine #Russia #US #Zelensky #Trump2026 #Sanctions #Economy #Dmitriev #War #Kyiv

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