Mr. Trump said negotiations with Russia and Ukraine 'are going pretty smoothly'.
The US president said Washington has scheduled meetings with representatives from Moscow and Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump announced that the country will hold talks with both Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict, emphasizing that discussions on the matter are "going quite smoothly."
Speaking to reporters on February 2, Trump said the U.S. was trying to resolve a number of crises. “As you know, we’ve had a very busy weekend. We’re dealing with issues related to Israel, Ukraine, and Russia,” he said.
"We have scheduled meetings and talks with many parties, including Ukraine and Russia, and I think these discussions are actually going quite well," he added.
This statement comes after Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, suggested that both Kyiv and Moscow would have to make concessions to reach a peace agreement. "I think both sides would have to make some concessions," Kellogg told Fox News.
Kellogg also said that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is considering changing his stance on refusing territorial concessions. “Mr. Zelensky has shown signs of softening his position on the territorial issue,” he said. At the same time, the special envoy stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will also have to soften his positions.”
When asked about the timeframe for reaching a solution, Kellogg estimated that an agreement could be reached within a few months. “We’re not talking about years. We have a concrete action plan,” he said.
Earlier, on February 1st, Kellogg also told Reuters that the US wants Ukraine to hold elections, possibly later this year.
According to RT, Kyiv suspended presidential and parliamentary elections on the grounds of martial law, while Zelensky's term expired last May. Therefore, Moscow considers him "illegitimate" and emphasizes that the only legitimate power currently rests with the Ukrainian parliament and its speaker.
Russian officials have stated their readiness to negotiate with the US regarding the Ukraine conflict, but stressed that no significant agreement has yet been reached on these discussions.
Previously, some media outlets reported that Trump's potential peace plan for Ukraine could include a ceasefire along the current front line and the establishment of an 800-mile (approximately 1,287 km) demilitarized zone overseen by European troops. Additionally, the plan might require Ukraine to postpone its desire to join NATO for at least 20 years.
However, Russia rejected the idea of freezing the conflict, asserting that hostilities would only end when Ukraine agreed to conditions including: maintaining permanent neutrality, demilitarization, defascism, and recognition of “current territorial realities.”