Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with U.S. official Kellogg in Kyiv, but a planned joint news conference is abruptly canceled.
The meeting comes amid growing global attention on Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said earlier he had discussed with Kellogg ways to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Zelenskiy said he was counting on unity at home and in Europe as well as pragmatism from Washington, striking a conciliatory tone after U.S. President Donald Trump rebuked him publicly.
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Trump said on Wednesday that Zelenskiy was a “dictator without elections” who should act quickly to secure peace or lose his country. Zelenskiy told Ukrainians it was crucial that both the Kellogg meeting and cooperation with Washington in general, were “constructive.”
Trump is seeking to reestablish ties with Russia and also to invest in Ukraine’s resources of minerals critical to the energy transition. Ukraine rejected an initial U.S. plan as it did not entail security guarantees and Zelenskiy accused Trump on Wednesday of repeating Russian disinformation about the war.
