The year is coming to an end with two sharp messages between Russian leader Vladimir Putin's top adviser and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, chosen by President-elect Trump to be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, condemned Russian missile and drone attacks from last week.
“Christmas should be a time of peace, but Ukraine suffered a brutal attack on Christmas Day,” Kellogg said. wrote on social platform X on Wednesday.. “It is wrong to launch large-scale missile and drone attacks on the Lord’s Birthday. The world is watching the actions of both sides closely. The United States is more determined than ever to bring peace to the region. It’s solidified.”
Putin said in mid-December that he was ready and willing to meet Trump “if he wants.” But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday rejected a proposal put forward by President Trump's allies to end the war in Ukraine, a major setback for the president-elect's pledge to freeze the conflict.
Foreign Minister Lavrov responded to a leaked report about President Trump's proposal, saying, “Of course, the proposal by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine's membership in NATO for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeepers in Ukraine… I'm not satisfied.” .
The comments came amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West following the Azerbaijani plane crash that killed 38 people last week. President Putin apologized for the crash There is clearly a cause The attack was carried out by Russian air defense systems, but they stopped short of admitting responsibility.
President Trump has largely avoided specifying specific terms or demands for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, instead leveraging his personal relationships with President Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to Both countries have promised to conclude an agreement acceptable to them.
President Trump refused to claim a “victory” for Ukraine in a September debate, but hinted at continued engagement with the country in an interview. time magazine Early this month.
“I want to reach an agreement, and the only way to reach an agreement is not to give up,” he said.
Mr. Kellogg proposes to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table by threatening to cut off aid and forcing Putin to negotiate on the burgeoning weapons threat.
Future NATO membership is one of the key issues in any negotiations. Trump's advisers' proposals reportedly include abandoning Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO.
But President Zelenskiy has made NATO membership a key part of his plan for victory, and Ukrainian officials are seeking security guarantees that are unlikely to occur outside of NATO.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russia “will reject Ukraine's membership in NATO, regardless of territorial factors.”
At his annual press conference on state television last week, Putin spoke briefly about his future relationship with Trump, saying he was ready and willing to meet him at any time.
“What can I offer when I meet with President-elect Trump? First of all, I don't know when we will meet because he won't say anything about it,” Putin said on Thursday.
“I haven't talked to him for over four years, but of course I'm always ready to talk,” he added. “If he wishes, I will arrange a meeting.”
Putin's comments contradict Bob Woodward's report that Trump and Putin have met multiple times since President-elect Trump left the White House at the end of his first term.
Putin insisted last week that Russia was stronger after three years of costly war in Ukraine, adding that he and Trump had “a lot to talk about.”
“Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign nation.” “We are no longer dependent on anyone.”
Trump's impending return as commander-in-chief has raised concerns in Ukraine about the U.S. push for a ceasefire that would require territorial and other painful concessions, but Zelenskiy has not publicly announced His comments on the field remain optimistic.
“It was a productive conversation, a good conversation,” he said of his phone call with Trump the day after his November election victory.
“Of course, we don't know yet what his actions will be. But we want America to be stronger. This is the America that Europe needs. And this is the America that America needs. “I think what we have is a strong Europe,” he continued.
“This is a connection between allies that must be cherished and cannot be lost.”
