Global & US Headlines
Putin Hosts Witkoff & Kushner as Ukraine Peace Talks Enter Final 'Land Deal' Phase
On 22 Jan 2026, the Kremlin scheduled a Moscow meeting between Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, signalling that negotiations to end the four-year Ukraine war have narrowed to one unresolved territorial clause in a 20-point cease-fire blueprint.
Focusing Facts
- Witkoff told CNBC that after 6–8 weeks of rapid progress, only a single "land deal" item remains in the U.S.-drafted 20-point plan.
- President Trump said in Davos he will meet Zelenskyy the same day, noting Washington and Kyiv are already aligned on the draft while Moscow has yet to sign off.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov publicly confirmed the Thursday evening 22 Jan 2026 Putin-Witkoff-Kushner meeting is locked into the president's schedule.
Context
Flashbacks to the 1995 Dayton Accords—hammered out on U.S. turf and finalised only after maps were redrawn—hover over these talks. Like Dayton, an external broker is pushing combatants toward a cartographic compromise, while Europe watches warily from the sidelines, echoing the 1938 Munich lesson that land-for-peace deals can boomerang. The episode underscores two longer arcs: America’s century-long habit of mid-wifing settlements beyond its borders, and Russia’s persistent bid, since 1917, to secure buffer zones westward. Whether this moment matters a century from now hinges on one thing: if territory seized by force is internationally legitimised, it could reset the post-1945 norm against conquest, shaping Eurasian security arrangements far beyond the Donbas long after today’s negotiators are footnotes.
Perspectives
U.S. right-leaning media
Fox News — Trump’s envoys are on the brink of clinching a long-sought Ukraine peace as both Moscow and Kyiv finally show willingness to deal. Coverage plays up Trump’s statesman image and glosses over Ukrainian resistance to territorial concessions, mirroring Republican political interests.
European mainstream outlets
Sky News, CNBC, Newsweek — While Washington reports momentum, European officials caution that only one major hurdle remains and fear any rushed accord could leave Ukraine exposed to future Russian aggression. Stories highlight European security anxieties and cast U.S. – led talks as sidelining Europe, potentially overstating continental skepticism to defend EU/NATO influence.
Russian state-owned media
RT — The Kremlin is engaging constructively and a deal is ‘reasonably close,’ but Western plans that ignore Russia’s core demands are unacceptable. State outlets portray Russia as peace-minded and shift blame onto Kyiv and Europe, minimizing Moscow’s responsibility for starting and prolonging the war.