The future US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said that he aims to find a solution to end Russia’s war against Ukraine within the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
“I think the biggest mistake that President Biden made is that he never engaged in conversations with Putin. I mean, he hasn’t talked to him in over two years. He needs to talk to him. That’s one of the great things that the president (Trump) is doing – he’s talking to both adversaries and allies,” Kellogg said on FOX News.
According to the general, Trump “really knows that you have to talk to people to get things done, and that’s what he’s going to do.”
“We will create the conditions for the president, and eventually he will be in a position to talk to President Putin and also to President Zelensky. And I think they will come to an acceptable decision in the short term. And when I say “in the short term,” you know, I would like to set a goal on a personal level, on a professional level. I would say let’s set 100 days,” Kellogg said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his inauguration, German Cabinet official Martina Fitz said.
“The chancellor congratulates Mr. Zelensky on his inauguration. He is taking office in accordance with a democratic mandate,” Fitz told reporters in Berlin on Monday in response to a question from Interfax.
Relations between Germany and Ukraine “remain close” and Germany will continue providing support to Ukraine in its development and reforms, she said.
Fitz was unable to name a date for the upcoming meeting between Merkel and Zelensky, however. The meeting will take place “soon,” she said. “I can’t give an exact date as of yet,” she said.
An official gathering of Members of Parliament of Ukraine for a swearing-in ceremony of newly elected President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will begin at 10:00 Kyiv time on Monday, May 20; the venue is the parliament’s session hall.
Relevant draft resolution No. 10270-2 was backed by 315 MPs at a plenary session on Thursday, May 16, according to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent.
