Europe will not be directly at the negotiating table regarding the end of the war in Ukraine, because we do not want a replay from Minsk – said General Keith Kellogg, a special USA of the USA for Ukraine and Russia in Munich. He said that his role is to collect and take into account the opinions of European countries in this matter.
– I am here to collect the contribution (Europeans), but when we sit at the table, there will really be two protagonists (…) and the broker – said the envoy of President Trump during “Ukrainian lunch”, organized by the Ukrainian Yalta European Summit (yes ) by the margins of the Munich Safety Conference.
As he described, Russia and Ukraine are protagonists, and the United States is an intermediary. According to Kellogg, European countries will not be at the table to avoid repeating the situation from the Minsk negotiations (with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany), when “we had many people at the table who did not really have the ability to enforce a kind of peace.”
– I know that it may sound like the sound of nails on the board, that it may hurt a bit, but I tell you something that is quite honest – the general pointed out.
General Keith Kellogg in MunichPAP/EPA/BORIS ROESSLER/POOL
Kellogg with a negotiating process
As he said, the negotiating process takes place on two paths. For the first – talks with Russia – a special envoy of the Middle East House Steve Witkoff is to be responsible, while for the second – talks with European allies and Ukraine – he himself.
– We do not exclude the alliance, because when we make the final decision in this matter, everyone will be involved, and not only, by the way, not only Europe – he said.
Nothing was “removed from the table”
He emphasized that the US goal is to stop the bloodshed and ensure a permanent peace with respect for the sovereignty of Ukraine, which will require real security guarantees. He admitted, however, that so far he could not determine what they will look like, because this is what his conversation with European partners concerns.
He announced that he intends to gather opinions on this subject, and then present a number of options to President Trump. He noted that it was Trump, not he would make a decision on this matter. He also emphasized that despite earlier statements about the exclusion of NATO or the return to the 1991 borders, nothing was “removed from the table”.
Kellogg said that more specifics can be expected in “the following days and weeks”, not in half a year, and that he set a date for 100 days to reach an agreement.
Source of the main photo: PAP/EPA/BORIS ROESSLER/POOL