WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Ukraine envoy will journey to Kyiv and a number of other different European capitals in early January as the subsequent administration tries to bring a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine war, based on two sources with data of the journey’s planning.
Retired Lieutenant-Common Keith Kellogg, who is about to function Trump’s particular envoy for Ukraine and Russia, isn’t planning to go to Moscow throughout this journey, mentioned the sources, who requested anonymity to debate non-public issues.
As an alternative, he’ll go to senior leaders in Kyiv, and his workforce is working to arrange conferences with leaders in different European capitals, equivalent to Rome and Paris, mentioned the sources. Planning for the journey remains to be being finalised and the itinerary might change, one of many sources warned.
The conferences are anticipated to deal with fact-finding on behalf of the incoming Trump administration, reasonably than on energetic negotiations, the sources mentioned. Nonetheless, the deliberate journey, which is because of start shortly after New Yr’s Day, illustrates the urgency the president-elect has positioned on winding down the war in Ukraine.
Trump has promised to finish the battle inside 24 hours of taking workplace, if not earlier than. Former intelligence and national-security officers have expressed doubt that such a feat might be achieved, partially as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin could have little purpose to return to the negotiating desk, at the least on phrases acceptable to Kyiv.
A consultant for Trump didn’t touch upon the deliberate conferences, however mentioned ending the battle in Ukraine rapidly remained a precedence for the president-elect.
“President Trump has repeatedly said {that a} high precedence in his second time period will probably be to rapidly negotiate a peaceable decision to the Russia-Ukraine battle,” mentioned Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
Representatives for the Ukrainian and Italian embassies in Washington didn’t reply to requests for remark. It was not instantly potential to achieve a consultant of the French embassy.
