Incoming Trump peace envoy postponed Ukraine visit over legal reasons, Kyiv confirms
The visit is now expected to occur after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
The visit is now expected to occur after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
"People need to understand, he's not trying to give something to Putin or to the Russians, he's actually trying to save Ukraine and save their sovereignty," Trump's peace envoy Keith Kellogg said on Jan. 8.
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Ukraine peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, denounced Russia's mass attack on early Christmas morning, emphasizing that "Christmas should be a time of peace."
Tykhyi did not disclose the specific date of the visit for security reasons. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 19 that Kellogg would visit Ukraine before Trump's inauguration in January.
"(The visit to Ukraine) will take place in early January. We are waiting for Mr. Kellogg, and then we will talk about what he had meant," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Brussels.
U.S. General Keith Kellogg, nominated as Ukraine peace envoy by President-elect Donald Trump, criticized the recent assassination of Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov during an interview with Fox News on Dec. 18.
"I truly believe this will be resolved in the next few months," Kellogg said in an interview on Fox Business. "The only person who can do this is President Donald Trump, and he will do it. They're tired of killing each other out there. This is time," Kellogg added.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Nov. 27 decision to choose Keith Kellogg as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia is not ideal for Kyiv but is an acceptable and reasonable choice for Ukraine, analysts say. Kellogg has co-authored a peace plan that would freeze the front line in Ukraine,
"Keith Kellogg is not a new person for Ukraine. The Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S. has maintained close ties with him, in particular within the framework of expert diplomacy in recent years, and has developed and maintained a good dialogue with him during this time," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.
In June, Reuters reported that General Keith Kellogg proposed Donald Trump a plan that would cease military aid to Ukraine unless it agrees to hold peace negotiations with Russia.