US President Donald Trump has instructed his special envoy for the Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, to end the war in 100 days. According to the WSJ, Kellogg will advise Trump on negotiations, but Kellogg’s former colleagues say he has never been a diplomat and is unlikely to participate in talks.
“He will certainly not come up with anything that deviates from what Trump wants,” added a former member of the National Security Council who worked with Kellogg.
The special envoy’s former colleagues claim he was appointed to this position because of peace plan he proposed last year. It provided for a ceasefire and negotiations, with Ukraine and Russia to be forced to participate through a carrot-and-stick policy. The plan recommended that NATO refrain from accepting Ukraine and easing sanctions against Russia in exchange for signing a peace agreement. Ukraine was threatened with the termination of military aid if it refused to negotiate.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Trump’s coming to power created a “small window of opportunity” for negotiations between Moscow and Washington.