Trump says talks with Russia and Ukraine 'going pretty well'
The US President said Washington has scheduled meetings with representatives from Moscow and Kiev.
US President Donald Trump announced that the US will hold talks with both Russia and Ukraine on resolving the conflict, stressing that discussions on the issue are “going quite well.”
Speaking to reporters on February 2, Mr. Trump said the United States was trying to resolve a number of crises. “As you know, we had a very busy weekend. We are dealing with Israel, Ukraine and Russia,” he said.
“We have scheduled meetings and negotiations with a number of parties, including Ukraine and Russia, and I think those discussions are actually going quite well,” he added.
The comments came after Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, suggested that both Kiev and Moscow would have to make concessions to reach a peace deal. “I think both sides will have to make some concessions,” Kellogg told Fox News.
Kellogg also said that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is considering changing his stance on refusing to make territorial concessions. “Zelensky has shown signs of softening on the territorial issue,” he said. At the same time, the envoy also stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will have to soften his positions as well.”
Asked about the expected timeline for a resolution, Kellogg estimated that a deal could be reached within a few months. “We’re not talking about years. We have a concrete plan of action,” he said.
Earlier, on February 1, Kellogg also told Reuters that the US wants Ukraine to hold elections, possibly by the end of this year.
According to RT, Kiev has suspended presidential and parliamentary elections under the pretext of martial law, while Mr. Zelensky's term expired in May last year. Therefore, Moscow considers him "illegitimate" and emphasizes that the only legitimate power now belongs to the Ukrainian parliament and its speaker.
Russian officials have said they are ready to negotiate with the United States over the Ukraine conflict but stressed that there has been no substantial agreement on such discussions.
Earlier, some media reported that Mr. Trump’s potential peace plan for Ukraine could include a ceasefire along the current front lines and the establishment of an 800-mile (1,287 km) demilitarized zone monitored by European troops. In addition, the plan could require Ukraine to postpone its desire to join NATO for at least 20 years.
However, Russia has rejected the idea of freezing the conflict, insisting that hostilities will only end when Ukraine agrees to conditions including: maintaining permanent neutrality, demilitarization, de-fascism and recognition of “existing territorial realities”.
