WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. expects substantial progress in talks with Ukraine this week and hopes that a deal on critical minerals can be signed, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Monday.
U.S. negotiators were set to meet with Ukrainians this week in Saudi Arabia.
“I think that we’re going over there with an expectation that we’re going to make substantial progress,” Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News.
Asked if he thought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would return to the U.S. to sign a minerals deal this week, Witkoff said, “I am really hopeful. All the signs are very, very positive.”
Witkoff said among important items on the table will be security protocols for the Ukrainians and territorial issues.
Intelligence sharing also will be discussed at this week’s meetings, Witkoff told Fox News just before leaving for the Middle East for talks on Gaza. However, he said, the U.S. never shut off intelligence for anything defensive that Ukrainians needed.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Susan Heavey and Paul Simao)
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