Kirill Dmitriev, a key special envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin, described talks with US officials on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos as “constructive” on Tuesday. He was speaking after the two sides met behind closed doors for more than two hours.
Earlier in the day, the Kremlin said Moscow intended to pass “certain information” to the United States regarding a possible settlement of the Ukraine conflict during the meeting.
Dmitriev met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, as well as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to TASS.
“The meeting was constructive,” Dmitriev told reporters after leaving the US venue at the forum, known as USA House. “More and more people recognize the validity of the Russian position,” he added, without elaborating.
Witkoff also described the talks as “very positive,” but did not provide details.
Moscow and Washington have gradually intensified contacts since Trump returned to office, last year, with both sides publicly signalling interest in exploring a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine. Under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, relations between the two countries had fallen to their lowest level in decades.
Dmitriev visited the US several times last year, where he negotiated ways to restore bilateral ties and stop the fighting between Moscow and Kiev. During his most recent trip, in December, he held two days of talks with Witkoff and Kushner. Both sides described the talks as “constructive” at the time as well.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that the Russian authorities are looking forward to another visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Moscow. Putin met with Witkoff six times in 2025, according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Kiev’s top negotiator Rustem Umerov also said over the weekend that talks with the Americans on finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict will continue at the WEF this week.
Earlier on Tuesday, Axios reported that a plan for Trump to sign the so-called “prosperity plan” for Kiev with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the Davos forum has been scrapped. The Ukrainian leader announced the same day he would not attend the event.