White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed on Sunday that he, along with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, would be traveling to Saudi Arabia later in the day for talks aimed at ending the conflict. This news, shared during an interview with Fox News, marks the official announcement of the upcoming discussions.

Witkoff stated, "I am going tonight. I'll be traveling there with the national security advisor, and we'll be having meetings at the direction of the president, and hopefully we'll make some really good progress."

These talks in Saudi Arabia represent a significant step as they will be one of the first high-level, in-person dialogues between Russian and U.S. officials in years, setting the stage for a meeting between the U.S. President and the Russian President.

While Ukrainian leaders and European officials have expressed frustration at being left out of some negotiations with the Russians, Witkoff defended the inclusivity of the discussions. He highlighted that Ukrainian officials engaged with senior U.S. officials during the Munich Security Conference, underscoring the aim to involve all parties in the dialogue.