Trump's envoy: Both Ukraine and Russia must 'give a little' to end the war

(Patria) - Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said on Sunday that both Kyiv and Moscow will have to make concessions if they want to successfully negotiate a solution to the ongoing war, reported AFP.

"I think both sides will give a little," said Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who recently returned from a visit to Ukraine, in a television interview with Fox News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "has already hinted that he will soften his position on territory," Kellogg said, adding that Russian leader Vladimir Putin "will have to soften his positions as well."

Zelenskyy has long rejected any territorial concessions to Russia, whose troops control a large part of southeastern Ukraine, but faces pressure amid mounting battlefield losses and uncertainty about continued U.S. support.

Russia, for its part, has sought guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO. Trump, during his presidential campaign, promised a swift end to the nearly three-year war,
but offered few details on how he hoped to achieve it.

Putin said on Tuesday that his country could hold peace talks with Ukraine, but refused to speak directly with Zelenskyy, calling him "illegitimate" as his presidential term has expired.

Ukraine has not held elections since the outbreak of the war and the subsequent imposition of martial law, which Kellogg said on Sunday is permitted by the Ukrainian constitution.

Zelenskyy, in turn, said Putin "is afraid" of negotiations.

Kellogg told Fox News on Friday that Trump "wants to get it done" and added: "I feel very, very confident that we can really get something done."

Asked how long it might take, he said: "I'd like to say months, but not years."