President Volodymyr Zelensky apologized for the heated argument in the White House between him and U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said in a television interview with Fox News on March 10.
Witkoff is part of a U.S. delegation set to meet Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on March 11 in the first high-level talks between the two nations since the White House clash.
"Zelensky sent a letter to the president. He apologized for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office. I think that was an important step," Witkoff said.
Top White House officials demanded an apology from Zelensky in the aftermath of the Oval Office clash on Feb. 28. Zelensky issued a conciliatory statement on March 4 calling the incident "regrettable" and saying he was ready to work towards peace under Trump's "strong leadership."
It is not clear whether Witkoff was framing that statement as an apology or referencing other communications between Zelensky and Trump.
Witkoff also said that there have been ongoing discussions among Ukrainian, U.S., and European officials since the incident, and expressed optimism that the upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia could revive the collapsed minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv.
"I would like to describe it as progress ... I would hope that there's a deal," Witkoff said.
There is an "expectation" that the two sides will make "substantial progress" during the talks, he said.
"What's on the table, what's important to discuss are obviously security protocols for the Ukrainians, they care about that .... These are not complicated things," Witkoff said.
"They just need to be put on the table and everybody needs to be transparent about what their expectations are. Then we can begin to have a discussion around how we compromise."
Ukrainian-U.S. relations reached a low point following the White House clash, as Washington paused military aid to Kyiv and stopped sharing critical intelligence. Witkoff claimed earlier in the interview that the U.S. had not stopped sharing intelligence needed for defensive purposes.
The freeze on military aid has drawn criticism even from members of Trump's own party. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that pulling aid from Ukraine in the midst of Russia's war would "be worse than Afghanistan."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that if the Saudi Arabia talks were successful, Washington might resume military aid to Ukraine.
Chris York
