RTThu, 09 Jan 2025 00:35 UTC
© Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu/Getty ImagesUkraine soldiers near the front line in Donbass • January 8, 2025
US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming special envoy on the Ukraine conflict has said he hopes to mediate a resolution within 100 days after Inauguration Day on January 20.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to quickly mediate a successful peace deal, but offered little specifics. According to media reports,
his team is considering to propose freezing the conflict along the current front line.Retired US Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg told Fox News on Wednesday:
"I know I'm on the clock. I would like to set a goal on a personal level, on a professional level. I would say let's set it at 100 days and move your way back.
"He's not trying to give something to Putin or to the Russians. He's actually trying to save Ukraine and save their sovereignty. And he's going to make sure that it's equitable and that it's fair.
"The biggest mistake President [Joe] Biden made is the fact that he's never engaged in any conversations with Putin. He hasn't talked to him in over two years. Trump does talk to adversaries and allies alike."
Kellogg stressed that Trump remains committed to restarting negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky to find a settlement to the fighting, which has claimed "enormous" casualties on both sides.
Negotiations broke down after Kiev withdrew from the talks in spring 2022. Putin stated that for any settlement to work, Ukraine must abandon its plans to join NATO and renounce its claims on Crimea and four other former Ukrainian territories that have joined Russia.
Comment: The target is
Easter for Ukraine peace deal:
The team of incoming US President Donald Trump has reassessed its time frame for reaching a potential peace deal between Moscow and Kiev, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told journalists on Thursday. The Financial Times also reported, citing European officials, that Trump's team is yet to narrow down its options for how to approach negotiations.
Trump no longer expects to strike an agreement between Russia and Ukraine immediately after his inauguration on January 20, Lammy said, adding that such an outcome "is now unlikely."
"There had been a slight pushback in Washington that a deal can be achieved on January 21. We have heard the timetable has moved to Easter. The whole [Trump] team is obsessed with strength and looking strong, so they're recalibrating the Ukraine approach. It is absolutely clear Donald Trump is an individual who wants a deal, but he is also an individual who sees himself as a winner and not a loser."
However, Trump's team still does not have a specific plan on how to put an end to the conflict, according to the Financial Times. The incoming administration also does not want to repeat the mistakes of its predecessors and create a scene similar to the US hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 under President Joe Biden.
Russia welcomed Trump's desire to restore contacts with Moscow on Thursday. The Russian president "has repeatedly spoken about his readiness for a dialogue" and the need for it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In December, Putin told a press conference that he was ready to meet and talk with Trump. Russia has also repeatedly stated that it wanted to arrive at a sustainable and lasting solution to the conflict instead of simply freezing it.
Comment: The target is Easter for Ukraine peace deal: