President Donald Trump received an apology from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a letter following their contentious encounter at the White House two weeks ago, a gesture the White House reportedly demanded to mend relations between the countries.
During his speech in front of a joint session of Congress on March 4, Trump revealed he received "an important letter" from Zelenskyy that Ukraine was ready to negotiate a peace deal with Russia "as soon as possible" and that Ukraine values "how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence."
Trump also said the letter stated Ukraine is ready to sign a deal allowing the U.S. access to the country's vast mineral resources that also would provide security against future Russian aggression.
"I appreciate that he sent this letter," Trump said.
But also included in that letter was an apology for a very public heated exchange between Zelenskyy and Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, said Monday, according to The Hill.
"Zelenskyy sent a letter to the president," Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News. "He apologized for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office. I think that it was an important step, and there's been a lot of discussion between our teams and the Ukrainians and the Europeans who are relevant to this discussion, as well."
U.S. officials, led by Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and national security adviser Mike Waltz along with Ukraine officials, including Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, are set to meet Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to take part in peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy reportedly was in Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman but is not expected to be part of the talks.
Since the Oval Office incident, Trump paused military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Witkoff said it's important for the officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss security protocols for Ukraine, territorial issues and a utility plan.
"These are not complicated things, 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 about how we compromise," he said, according to The Hill.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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