Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he had a “productive meeting” with retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who was acting as President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
The upbeat meeting seemed to scale back a growing confrontation between Zelensky and Trump over bilateral U.S. peace negotiations with Russia.
“I had a productive meeting with Special Envoy Kellogg – a good discussion, many important details. I am grateful to the United States for all the assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” Zelensky said on social media Thursday afternoon.
“It’s important for us – and for the entire free world – that American strength is felt,” the Ukrainian president said.
“We had a detailed conversation about the battlefield situation, how to return our prisoners of war, and effective security guarantees,” he said.
Zelensky said the Ukrainians have “sought peace” from “the very first second of this war,” suggesting he might be able to get behind United States–Russia negotiations — provided they ensure “peace is strong and lasting,” and “Russia can never return with war.”
“Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States. We have proposed the fastest and most constructive way to achieve results. Our team is ready to work 24/7,” Zelensky said.
“Success unites us all. Strong Ukraine—U.S. relations benefit the entire world. I thank General Kellogg for the joint work to achieve important results,” he concluded.
Zelensky’s sunny statement belied a bit of drama even in his cordial meeting with Kellogg. The two were supposed to give a joint press conference on Thursday after they spoke, but the conference was canceled at the last minute and replaced with a simple photo opportunity for journalists. Neither Zelensky nor Kellogg made comments or took questions.
A Zelensky spokesman said on Thursday that the joint press conference was canceled at the request of the U.S. government. The White House did not respond to questions from the media about why the press conference was canceled.
Kellogg swung through Brussels on his way to Ukraine for a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Europeans have been strongly supportive of Zelensky and harshly critical of President Trump throughout their dispute. They grew increasingly angry with Trump as he doubled down on his criticism of Zelensky as a “dictator” who was not truly committed to negotiating peace.
Von der Leyen assured Kellogg that the European Union (EU) is “carrying its full share of military assistance to Ukraine and stands ready to do even more.” She also stressed the EU’s position that Zelensky and his government must be fully involved in any peace talks with Russia and insisted any deal to end the war must include security guarantees for Ukraine.
Kellogg told reporters in Brussels on Monday that no one would impose a peace deal on Zelensky, whom he acknowledged as the “elected leader of a sovereign nation.” He also pledged to keep the EU in the loop as negotiations with Russia to end the war proceeded.
One of the sticking points in the early stages of negotiations is that the EU is talking very tough about putting troops in Ukraine to prevent Russia from invading again – but only if the United States does the same. Kellogg said “those discussions are going to take place.”
“I’ve been with President Trump, and the policy has always been: You take no options off the table,” said Kellogg, a strong supporter of Trump’s “America First” foreign policy agenda.
Kellogg wrote a paper last April entitled “America First, Russia, and Ukraine” in which he suggested the war might be ended with a deal in which Russia keeps the restless eastern Ukrainian provinces that provided the pretext for its invasion, in exchange for a substantial financial commitment from Moscow to help Ukraine rebuild.
Kellogg argued that such a transactional approach would be more likely to forge a durable peace than forcing “internationalism” on Russia and making it feel cornered by NATO expansion.
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