U.S. envoy for the war in Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, stated on Friday that he had held “broad and positive” discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On social media platform X, Kellogg shared that during his Thursday visit to Kyiv, he also spoke with Zelensky’s “talented national security team.”
For his part, President Zelensky said the talks with Kellogg “restored hope” for reaching a deal with Washington.
“We need a strong agreement with America, one that truly works. Economic and security interests must go hand in hand. The details of the agreement are crucial. The better they are drafted, the better the outcome,” Zelensky said in an evening address to the nation.
He added that he and Kellogg discussed issues related to the frontlines, the need to free all Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia, and the necessity of a reliable and well-defined security guarantee system “so that the war does not return, and the Russians can no longer take lives,” as he put it.
“We all need peace – Ukraine, Europe, America – the whole world,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also shared that he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron about “security guarantees” for Ukraine and the next steps in the latest diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia.
Macron is expected to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.
The meeting in Kyiv between Trump’s envoy for the Ukrainian conflict and President Zelensky took place amid heightened tensions between Washington and Kyiv due to mutual accusations between President Trump and President Zelensky.
After accusing Trump of living in the space of Russian disinformation in response to U.S. comments that Ukraine had started the war three years ago, Zelensky later softened his tone.
However, President Trump continued to refer to Zelensky as a “dictator who wasn’t elected,” emphasizing that if he did not act soon, he risked losing his country.
Trump is pushing for a swift agreement to end the war, which has alarmed U.S. European allies, who are concerned that they, along with Ukraine, were left out of the initial negotiations with Russia and that any agreement might favor Moscow over Kyiv.
