By Enyichukwu Enemanna
United States President, Donald Trump’s envoys have met with a delegation from Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, where discussions focused on achieving lasting peace in Ukraine.
This comes amid reports that the signing of a $800bn “prosperity plan” for Ukraine was postponed due to tensions over Greenland.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Moscow would not comment on talks in Davos, but stressed the importance for Russia of receiving information on discussions between the US, European leaders and Ukrainian authorities.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Tuesday for more than two hours on WEF’s sidelines, Russian state-run news agency TASS had reported.
The agency quoted Witkoff as saying the talks had been “very positive”.
Witkoff later told The Associated Press news agency that he and Kushner were planning to hold talks Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian delegation on Thursday.
The Kremlin confirmed that the meeting which will take place in Moscow was on the instance of President Putin.
Reports on Wednesday emerged that tensions in the NATO alliance, arising from Trump’s bid to acquire Greenland had derailed the signing of a Ukraine reconstruction plan worth $800bn, which was originally scheduled to take place in Davos.
According to Financial Times, the so-called “prosperity plan” which will be agreed between Ukraine, Europe and the US was not being shelved indefinitely but could still be signed at a later date.
“Nobody is in any mood to stage a grand spectacle around an agreement with Trump right now,” one official told the Financial Times.
Trump has shaken the transatlantic alliance by repeatedly threatening to take over Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, claiming alleged “security” reasons.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned allies not to allow tensions over Greenland to distract them from the need to defend Ukraine.
“The focus on Ukraine should be the number one priority; it is crucial for European and US security,” Rutte said in a panel discussion in Davos on Wednesday.
“I am really worried that we lose sight and that in the meantime Ukrainians won’t have enough interceptors to defend themselves.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he would travel to Davos only if documents on security guarantees with the US and a “prosperity plan” were ready to be signed there.
The President said he would instead remain in Kyiv to oversee relief efforts, as Russian missile and drone attacks continued to batter Ukraine’s energy system.
