WASHINGTON, January 22. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told the World Economic Forum in Davos he is optimistic about a Ukraine settlement, noting significant progress has been made and talks are now down to just one issue.
TASS has compiled the main statements made by the US leader's special envoy.
Major progress
Major progress has been made in settling the Ukraine conflict, and the sides are now in the final discussion stage: "I think we’ve made a lot of progress. I think in the beginning of this process there was a little bit of confusion, I was going to Moscow quite a bit, but I think it was important to go there, because we’re at the end now," Witkoff said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Settling the Ukraine conflict now comes down to discussing just one issue: "It’s [settling the Ukraine crisis - TASS note] literally that comprehensive, and I think we’ve got it down to one issue and we have discussed iterations of [solving] that issue, and that means it's solvable," the US envoy said.
Possibility of a tariff-free zone in Ukraine
Creating a tariff-free zone in Ukraine could boost the country's economy in the future: "We spent a dinner last night talking about the upward trajectory for the Ukrainian economy and financial system. Capital markets, the jobs, the President [of US Donald Trump] has talked about a tariff-free zone for Ukraine that I think would be game-changing, we’ll see industry moving to that area," he said.
Upcoming visits to Moscow and Abu Dhabi
After the meeting in Moscow, contacts on settling the situation in Ukraine will take place at the working group level in Abu Dhabi: "We are not staying over [in Moscow], we are going right to Abu Dhabi. That’s an important point because in Abu Dhabi [there] will be the working groups, military-to-military, [economic] prosperity [issues will be discussed]," the US envoy said.