US President Donald Trump has tasked his special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, with ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 100 days, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
“Negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be much more difficult than Donald Trump promised during his campaign — when he vowed to end the conflict before taking office,” the paper said.
President Donald Trump wants to take control of the peace talks himself, the Wall Street Journal stressed.
Kellogg's former colleagues say he is not an independent figure and has never worked as a diplomat, making him unlikely to be involved in "any real negotiations with Russia".
On January 7, Donald Trump admitted that resolving the Ukraine issue could take more than 24 hours - the time frame he set during his campaign. Meanwhile, Kellogg said he wanted to achieve the goal in 100 days.
On January 21, President Donald Trump told reporters that the US could stop providing weapons to Ukraine and reaffirmed his readiness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
RT reported that on January 22, Mr. Trump issued a warning with the implication of an "ultimatum" to Moscow, urging the country to end the Ukrainian conflict and reach a "deal", otherwise it would face new sanctions and high import taxes.
On the Russian side, President Putin said Moscow is ready for dialogue on the Ukraine conflict with the new US administration, emphasizing the priority of resolving the root causes of the crisis. The Russian president also noted Mr. Trump's statements about restoring communications and doing everything possible to prevent World War III.
