A meeting between Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyky has ended with a canceled press conference. Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg was in Kyiv to discuss the conditions for further US military support. . Zelenskyky recently rejected a proposal that would give the US access to Ukraine’s mineral resources as payment for its support. The tensions have escalated into a war of words between Zelenskyky and US President Donald Trump. In a lengthy address, Kensky called the talks with Kellogg productive.
Despite the cancelled press conference, General Kellogg, our talks restore hope. We We need strong agreements with America, agreements that will grillwork. k. I gave instructions to work fast and very much even-handedly; economic interests and security interests should always be together. hew ell, the meeting with the US’s Ukraine Envoy Keith Kellogg came after Trump called Zelenskyky a dictator for not holding elections while the war continues. as. I asked Christine Bina from the German Marshall Fund in Washington how damaged relations are between
Ukraine and the United States The last day has been very difficult for ties between Kev and Washington. The shift in Washington to apparently holding Ukraine responsible for the war rather than Russia has been very tough and resulted in a slew of back-and-forth language between Zelenskyky and Trump but it’s very encouraging that Kellogg had his meeting with Zelenskyky today because, besides what we see on Truth Social or in short soundbites, having significant and deep conversations about what Ukrainians want is
How damaged are relations between the US and Ukraine?
It is on the table in any peace negotiation and is absolutely essential and the big thing that has been absent over the last week has been deeper conversations between the administration and the Ukrainians on what should be coming next and this comes in the context of incredibly fast preparations for high-level talks between Trump and Putin on these war talks that, at the moment, may not include Ukraine or Europeans present and, again, in making sure that Ukrainian opinions and needs are well understood and included.
used is paramount, well, Christine, as well as Malinski, who said that the talks gave hope for a potential agreement. Washington. Washington. Does this also deal with the deal that the US wants to get over the line? Is it now a possibility or is it in serious jeojeopardy? The minerals deal is one important part of the negotiations between Washington and Kiev on the peace deal. Something that is very important, besides speed for President Trump to resolve the war, is also the question of who pays and whether Ukraine is, uh,
Essentially, whether they are indebted to the United States for past aid given or whether the minerals will provide further aid are really key considerations and so I would assume that the minerals deal is an important part of the conversations today. Let’s bring in European leaders. You touched on it there just before. Prime Minister Kier Stammer and French President Emmanuel Macron are looking into the idea of sending European troops as peacekeepers to Ukraine. Would that actually be a scenario, though, that Vladimir Put.
Relations deteriorate between Ukraine and the US
The Russian president would ever actually agree to—I don’t know how much agreement is necessary. Uh, President Putin is also threatening you Europeans and NATO actively and presenting this war as a war against NATO, and so I feel as though only taking into account Russian purported red lines in terms of what could come next is not going to give a good deal to Ukrainians or Europeans, and so I certainly hope that that isn’t at the top of the agenda to limit the activities of,. U, of what could come next is not going to give a good deal to Ukrainians or Europeans, and so I certainly hope that that isn’t at the top of the agenda to limit the activities of, uh, what Europe and Ukraine can do now.
the US were to withdraw its support?? Europe is definitely stepping up its abilities, uh and is also talking about the peacekeepers, so perhaps it can provide a different kind of support to Ukraine than the US would be willing to give. There is no easy one-for-one replacement from the United States and the question of arms production and what is available in military stores is very acute, but certainly UK Europeans can do
more and Europeans can also do things like support Ukrainian production of weapons and let Ukrainians arm themselves and Europe in the future. That is something that Europe can do. Great to have your analysis there. Christine Christine Braze, GMF GEOST strategy North, is joining us tonight from Washington, DC. Thanks, thank you.
