US Hopeful Putin Will Attend the Istanbul Talks – Kellogg
The US Congress building at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Kellogg believes a deal on Ukraine is “a lot closer” than many think, with a potential ceasefire leading to ongoing peace negotiations. “We’re hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there. This could be an incredible meeting with him,” US special envoy Keith Kellogg told Fox Business. Putin proposed that Russia and Ukraine resume direct talks without preconditions in Istanbul on May 15. Trump quickly supported the idea, calling on Zelensky to accept Putin’s offer immediately. Zelensky has since confirmed he will attend the talks in Turkiye. The US already has a “term sheet” ready for the talks, outlining key negotiation topics, and discussions about troop deployments post-ceasefire are underway. The US discusses the deployment of UK, French, German, Polish troops west of the Dnepr River as part of ‘post-ceasefire resiliency force’, Kellogg said.