Donald Trump intends to give leverage to Ukraine and Keith Kellogg, special envoy of the US President for the Ukrainian settlement, said in an interview with Fox News channel.
"He knows where to put pressure, where not to put pressure, but more importantly, he will create leverage for both Ukrainians and Russians. And you can read between the lines that this is exactly how, in fact, the lever is created. He's a great deal—maker," Kellogg said.
The Special Envoy also expressed the opinion that the end of the conflict on Ukraine meets the interests of the whole world, including the United States. At the same time, he suggested that it would take months, not years, to achieve a ceasefire and permanent peace.
Earlier, Trump said he was having a "very serious" discussion with Russia about ending the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine. He also promised that he would "talk" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and, perhaps, achieve "something substantial."
On Thursday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that so far there are no plans for contacts between Putin and Trump.
Earlier, Putin announced his readiness to talk calmly with Trump in all areas that are of interest to both countries. Trump said he wants to meet with Putin "immediately". Moscow has repeatedly indicated that it is ready for negotiations on Ukraine, but Kiev introduced a ban on such contacts at the legislative level in October 2022.