Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, is playing a central role in the Trump administration’s approach to securing peace in both Gaza and Ukraine.
Here’s what he said today on each front:
Gaza ceasefire: Witkoff expressed confidence that phase two of the uneasy ceasefire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas would take place.
“Phase two is absolutely going to begin,” he said during an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” noting that he spoke by phone today with leaders in Israel, Qatar and Egypt.
Phase two of the ceasefire would include the return of 19 Israel Defense Forces soldiers, whom the US believes to be alive, as well as others, including American citizen Edan Alexander.
“It just is a little bit more intricate and complicated in terms of how we bring the two sides together on this, because phase two contemplates an end of the war — but it also contemplates Hamas not being involved in the government and being gone from Gaza. … We’ve got to square those two things,” he explained.
In a statement today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauded the release of three more hostages by Hamas on Saturday, but warned the group’s leaders that they are “playing with fire” as negotiations continue over the release of their remaining captives. Rubio called on Hamas to release remaining hostages immediately.
Ukraine war negotiations: Witkoff told Bartiromo he’s traveling with a US delegation to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to begin talks with senior Moscow officials aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, as CNN has previously reported.
He described the upcoming negotiations as “trust-building” toward the ultimate goal of ending the war.
Witkoff disputed criticism that Ukraine isn’t part of the Saudi Arabia talks, pointing to President Donald Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other high-level Trump officials’ engagement with Ukrainian officials.
“I don’t think this is about excluding anybody. In fact, it’s about including everybody,” Witkoff said.
CNN’s Alison Main contributed reporting to this post.
