White House West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Sunday his imminent travel to Saudi Arabia, where he will be accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to engage in discussions aimed at resolving Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
Concurrently, a government source cited by the BBC indicated that Ukraine will not participate in the US-Russia talks scheduled in Saudi Arabia.
Witkoff’s statements to Fox News marked the first official acknowledgment of the forthcoming discussions.
These meetings in Saudi Arabia are poised to be among the first significant in-person interactions between Russian and US officials in several years, with the objective of facilitating a future meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I am departing tonight,” Witkoff stated regarding the trip during a Fox News interview. “I will be traveling with the national security advisor, and we will conduct meetings as directed by the president, with the hope of achieving substantial progress.”
Ukrainian officials express discontent over exclusion from Russia negotiations
Ukrainian leaders, along with representatives from other European nations, have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction regarding their exclusion from certain negotiations involving US and Russian officials. They have confirmed that they were not invited to the upcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia and have asserted that they will not acknowledge or be bound by any agreements that may arise from these discussions.
Witkoff countered the notion that Ukrainians have been sidelined in talks with the Russians. In his Fox interview, he highlighted that Ukrainian officials had engaged with several senior US officials during the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, although he did not confirm their participation in the Saudi discussions.
“I do not believe this is about excluding anyone,” Witkoff remarked. “In fact, it is about including everyone.”
