U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg's visit to Kyiv "restores hope," President Volodymyr Zelensky said following their meeting on Feb. 20.
Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, spoke to Zelensky earlier in the day as part of Washington's efforts to broker a resolution in Russia's full-scale war.
It was "a meeting that restores hope," Zelensky said.
"(A)nd we need strong agreements with America — agreements that will really work."
The meeting occurred on the backdrop of mounting tensions between Washington and Kyiv in recent days. Ukraine was not invited when the U.S. and Russia held talks in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18.
Trump praised the U.S.-Russia talks and shortly thereafter began parroting Kremlin talking points in his public remarks, calling Zelensky a "dictator" and lying about his approval rating.
Francis Farrell
Zelensky objected to Ukraine's exclusion from the Riyadh talks and shot back at Trump's false claims, saying he would "like there to be more truth in Trump's team."
When Kellogg arrived in Ukraine on Feb. 19, he said his aim was to "listen" to Kyiv's concerns and relay his findings to the White House. Kellogg had been sidelined from the talks in Saudi Arabia, possibly because the Russian delegation disliked his perceived pro-Ukraine stance.
Kellogg met with top Ukrainian military and government officials during his visit. While Zelensky sounded a hopeful note after his meeting with Kellogg, Washington requested that there be no joint press briefing following the conversation.
Zelensky said the talks focused on front-line developments, prisoners of war (POWs) in Russian captivity, and Ukraine's need for long-term security guarantees.
"We all need peace: Ukraine, Europe, America, everyone in the world," Zelensky said.
Martin Fornusek
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