White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff left for Saudi Arabia, along with national security adviser Mike Waltz, for talks on ways to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
His statements to Fox News are the first official confirmation of these talks, which will be among the first high-level discussions between Russian and American officials in years and are intended to precede a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian leaders and officials from European countries have publicly expressed disappointment that American officials have excluded them from some negotiations with the Russians.
Ukrainian officials have said they were not invited to the Saudi Arabia meeting and that they will not be bound to implement any agreements that emerge from any dialogue there.
Witkoff rejected the idea that Ukrainians have been excluded from talks with the Russians. In the Fox interview, he noted that Ukrainian officials met with several senior U.S. officials during the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, though he did not say whether Ukrainians were welcome in Saudi Arabia.
"I don't think this is about excluding anyone," Witkoff said. "In fact, it's about including everyone."
The first reports of the negotiations emerged on Saturday, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to attend. Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Saturday during which they discussed the conflict in Ukraine, both sides said.
They agreed to regular contacts to prepare a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Meanwhile, France said on Sunday it will hold a high-level meeting of European leaders on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security, in an effort to find a concrete response to US President Donald Trump's approach to the conflict. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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