US President-Elect Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg said the biggest mistake US President Joe Biden made in his handling of the Ukraine war is his reluctance to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kellogg, while briefing about Trump's plan to end Ukraine war, said: "The biggest mistake President [Joe] Biden made is the fact that he’s never engaged in any conversations with Putin. He hasn’t talked to him in over two years,” Kellogg said, adding that Trump does talk to adversaries and allies alike.
Kellogg's statement comes as Trump vows to settle the war quickly upon taking office, but has so far not offered any specifics about how he plans to do so. There were reports that Trump had suggested delaying Ukraine's NATO membership for 10-20 years as a condition to end the war but that wasn't acceptable to Ukraine.
Trump's Ukraine/Russia envoy Keith Kellogg says he's aiming for a "solvable solution" in Ukraine within 100 days of Jan 20. pic.twitter.com/nsl3BU837f
— Alex Marquardt (@MarquardtA) January 8, 2025
However, Kellogg added that he and Trump are aware that they have little time to find a solution to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. "I know I’m on the clock," the retired US Army lieutenant general said. "I would like to set a goal on a personal level, on a professional level. I would say let’s set it at 100 days and move your way back."
He also rubbished allegations that Trump was favouring Russia. Stressing that Trump remained committed to restarting negotiations between Putin and Ukrainian leader Vlodomyr Zelenskyy to find a settlement to the fighting. "He’s not trying to give something to Putin or to the Russians. He’s actually trying to save Ukraine and save their sovereignty. And he’s going to make sure that it’s equitable and that it’s fair," Kellogg said.
Two days ago, Trump had launched a scathing attack on Biden, stating that the US President broke a deal that America had with Russia on how far the US-led military bloc could expand.
"Moscow has repeatedly stated even before President Vladimir Putin came to power that it does not want to see NATO in Ukraine," Trump stated, adding that it "has been written in stone." However, Biden insisted that they should be able to join NATO, Trump added.
The president-elect also said he could understand how Russia was feeling about having a foreign military bloc "right on their doorstep."
However, Zelenskyy downplayed the comments made by Trump. "Don’t draw conclusions about the policy of the US right away," Zelenskyy told journalists.
