Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., says President Donald Trump can deliver peace amid the Russia-Ukraine war on ‘Kudlow.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to sign a mineral deal with the U.S., President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters on Thursday.
“I think Zelenskyy has offered to sign it, and we’ll see if he follows through,” the special envoy said while standing outside the White House.
The agreement was apparently revealed in a letter Zelenskyy sent to Trump this week following the spat that unfolded live in the Oval Office less than a week ago.
Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, speaks to the press outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
A joint event held with the Ukrainian president, Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet members ended in an uproar after Zelenskyy, apparently frustrated the deal did not include any security assurances, refused to agree to such terms and was deemed “disrespectful” and “ungrateful” by both Vance and Trump.
Witkoff told reporters “there’s a path back” to the White House for Zelenskyy following his letter to Trump, which was apparently well-received and included an apology.
“President Zelenskyy has demonstrated that he’s intent on that good-faith path back. He’s apologized. He said he’s grateful,” Witkoff told reporters. “He said that he wants to work toward peace.
WHITE HOUSE REPORTEDLY PLANS TO REVOKE MORE THAN 240K UKRAINIANS’ LEGAL STATUS
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Former President Donald Trump meet at Trump Tower in New York City on Sept. 27, 2024. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)
“That’s ultimately the goal here,” he added. “President Trump is an outcome-oriented man. He wants a good outcome, and a good outcome is peace. No more deaths and a better world.”
Witkoff also announced that the Trump administration is currently working with its Ukrainian counterparts to set up a meeting in Saudi Arabia for next week to begin discussions on setting up a framework to initiate ceasefire discussions with Russia.
A similar announcement was made on Wednesday by Zelenskyy’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, who said a meeting with American officials was being set up for next week, and that he had been in discussions with national security advisor Mike Waltz.
National security advisor Mike Waltz confirmed that Washington had paused its intelligence sharing with Kyiv. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Questions over U.S. support for Ukraine — which has been in doubt for weeks after Trump re-entered the White House — escalated on Wednesday after Waltz confirmed that Washington had paused its intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Witkoff didn’t have any answers on when that support would resume or whether the Trump administration would take issue with European allies sharing intelligence with Kyiv.
“Hopefully we get things back on track with the Ukrainians and everything resumes,” Witkoff said.