Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, has said talks held in the United States on Ukraine’s reconstruction and security arrangements will continue this week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Umerov’s comments followed two days of consultations in Florida with Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser. The Ukrainian side described the agenda as post-war recovery planning and US security guarantees, without announcing a signed agreement.
The Davos continuation matters because both Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected in the Swiss resort during the Forum’s Annual Meeting, which runs from 19 to 23 January. Zelenskyy has indicated Ukraine hopes documents could be signed there, tying the Florida consultations to deliverables at Davos.
The Ukrainian objective, as presented publicly, is to secure a package that combines an economic framework for rebuilding with credible deterrence against renewed Russian attack once active hostilities end. The difficulty is that both elements are framed around a post-war settlement, and any settlement would require Russia’s participation or, at minimum, Russian acceptance of enforcement costs.
Against that backdrop, attention has turned to whether Witkoff and Kushner travel to Moscow, and when. Reuters has reported that the Kremlin is preparing for a future visit by the pair, without dates being confirmed. Bloomberg has separately reported that Witkoff and Kushner have sought to travel to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin “in the near future”.
The sequence is politically consequential. A trip to Moscow before any Trump–Zelenskyy meeting in Davos would suggest Washington is still testing Putin’s position before aligning publicly with Kyiv on specific terms. A trip after Davos would imply the US is presenting Moscow with a more consolidated US–Ukrainian line, potentially narrowing Putin’s room to manoeuvre.
The question is sharpened by scrutiny of Witkoff’s contacts with senior Kremlin officials. In late November, Reuters reported Russian criticism of the leak of a call between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin’s senior foreign policy aides. The Associated Press reported that Witkoff advised Ushakov on how to pitch a peace proposal to Trump, an episode that has become a reference point in debates about who is shaping the US channel to Moscow.
Recent information disputes have added further complexity. In late December, Russia claimed Ukraine had targeted a Putin residence near Valdai. Ukraine denied it. US officials later said their assessment was that Ukraine did not carry out such an attack. The episode underlined how quickly unverified claims can enter high-level conversations and then be walked back.
Davos, meanwhile, is opening under an unusually confrontational transatlantic backdrop. Trump has revived his demand for US control of Greenland and linked it to economic pressure on European allies. Trump’s letter to Norway’s prime minister connected his Greenland position to tariffs and to criticism of Denmark’s ability to secure the territory. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll found low US public support for efforts to acquire Greenland, and broad opposition to the use of force.
European institutions have responded by emphasising Danish sovereignty and signalling preparedness to act collectively. The European Council published a statement by its president following consultations with member states on the tensions. European media reporting has described EU discussions about countermeasures and the potential use of the bloc’s anti-coercion instrument if tariff threats escalate.
For Ukraine, the Greenland dispute risks affecting the diplomatic atmosphere around any Davos engagement with Trump. European leaders who have anchored much of Ukraine’s external support are, at the same time, managing a direct confrontation with Washington over territory and trade. In practical terms, that could complicate coordination on sanctions, security guarantees, and the future US role in Europe’s defence posture—issues that are intertwined with Ukraine’s negotiating position.
The Davos calendar therefore concentrates several tracks in one place: US–Ukrainian talks on recovery and guarantees; the question of when Washington engages Moscow; and an open dispute between the US and Europe over Greenland and tariffs. Whether these tracks converge into a clearer roadmap, or instead deepen uncertainty, will depend on what is agreed in private meetings and what is said publicly in the days ahead.
