On February 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would meet with US special envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg on February 20 and hoped to have “constructive” interaction with the US, according to AFP news agency.
“We are scheduled to meet with Mr. Kellogg on February 20 and it is very important for us that the meeting and the work between us and the United States in general be constructive,” Mr. Zelensky said.
According to Mr. Zelensky, together with the United States and Europe, Ukraine can build a more solid and reliable peace, and that is also Ukraine’s goal. It is not only Ukraine’s goal but also a common goal with Ukraine’s partners.
Mr Zelensky said he “believed in the unity of Ukraine” as well as “European unity” and “American pragmatism”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) and US President Donald Trump . Photo: CNN
Mr Zelensky added that Ukraine wanted to end the fighting from the “first second” when Russia launched a special military operation in February 2022 and he wanted a peace deal that guaranteed that Moscow would not attack again.
“I believe that we will end the war and have a lasting peace so that Russia cannot return to Ukraine, so that Ukrainians can return from Russian captivity and so that Ukraine has a future. This is the normal desire of every nation,” Mr. Zelensky said.
Mr. Zelensky made the above statement after a verbal spat with Mr. Trump. On February 19, Mr. Trump posted on the social network Truth Social that Mr. Zelensky was a “comedian of modest success” who had lured the United States into spending $350 billion on a war that could not be won and should never have been started.
Mr. Trump also bluntly called Mr. Zelensky an unelected “dictator” and advised Mr. Zelensky to act quickly or there would be no country left.
In response, President Zelensky asserted that Mr. Trump’s words were false information and said that Mr. Trump was trapped in “Russia’s fake news bubble.”
In a related development, special envoy Keith Kellogg was in Kiev on February 19. Mr. Kellogg said he was in Kiev to listen to Kiev’s concerns.
“We understand the need for security… Part of my job is to sit and listen and say, what are your concerns?” – Mr. Kellogg said.
Earlier, right after the negotiations between the US and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia on February 18, President Zelensky criticized the Trump administration’s negotiating tactics when it excluded Kiev from negotiations with Russia to end the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the New York Times.
In protest, Mr. Zelensky canceled a scheduled trip to the Saudi capital.
According to Mr. Zelensky, the decision on how to end the hostilities in Ukraine cannot be made without Kiev, and if negotiations are completed, no conditions can be imposed on Ukraine.
“We were not invited to this Russia-US meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us and I think for many others,” Zelensky said.
