U.S. to Reportedly Hold Separate Talks With Russia and Ukraine Before Joint Negotiations

The United States is planning to hold separate meetings with Russian and Ukrainian representatives before potential joint peace talks, NBC News reported on February 15, citing two U.S. officials.

According to the report, Ukraine was not invited to the recent negotiations in Saudi Arabia. However, Washington intends to first hold a bilateral meeting with Russia, then a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, before eventually bringing both sides together.

“All to say we are working with both [Russia and Ukraine] with the same weight,” one of the officials stated. “We want to end the killing and get headed to lasting peace.”

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, defended the idea of engaging with Vladimir Putin to broker a peace deal, saying: “Whether you like it or not, you have to talk to adversaries.”

“As a great secretary of defense, Gen. Mattis, once said: I may not like this son of a b----, but I got to talk to him,” he added.

Kellogg also urged Western leaders to tighten sanctions on Russia, particularly by targeting Moscow’s oil revenue. He suggested that potential negotiations could include Russia’s willingness to cede occupied territory as part of a settlement.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he’s open to letting European nations purchase American-made arms for transfer to Ukraine.