Keith Kellogg’s visit to Kyiv and other European capitals is now scheduled to take place after President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20th.
President-elect Trump’s advisor on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has delayed a planned trip to Kyiv until after Donald Trump assumes office, Reuters reported. The retired lieutenant general had intended to visit Kyiv in early January for meetings with Ukrainian leaders.
The reason for the postponement remains unclear, and a new date has yet to be announced, according to the news agency.
Bloomberg previously reported Kellogg’s openness to meetings in Moscow if invited. The trip’s purpose was reportedly information gathering, not policy implementation. However, Reuters’ report did not mention Moscow.
Kellogg has previously voiced concerns about the drawn-out Ukraine conflict, stating that “this has become a war of attrition that’s going to kill a whole generation of young men.”
Trump has repeatedly asserted his ability to resolve the conflict within 24 hours of his inauguration. He has also criticized President Biden’s authorization of US-supplied missile strikes deep into Russia, calling it a dangerous escalation.
Trump has cautioned that he may cut off aid to Ukraine if it does not pursue a peace agreement. He suggested last month that he expects Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to consider territorial concessions as part of a potential peace deal.
Moscow has repeatedly affirmed its readiness for unconditional dialogue on Ukraine, based on the 2022 Istanbul preliminary agreements and the current situation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has listed conditions for a peaceful resolution, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, and Ukraine abandoning its NATO aspirations.
A peace plan, co-authored by Kellogg and submitted to Trump earlier this year, proposes a ceasefire along the existing front lines and a ten-year moratorium on Ukraine joining NATO. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has commented that Kellogg needs to “delve deeper into the Ukrainian issue”.