Yermak insisted on signing deal in White House, Kellogg was against it - New York Post
Trump's special envoy for the war in Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, opposed the signing of the fossil fuel deal during a personal meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump. However, the head of the Presidential Administration, Andriy Yermak, insisted on this format.
According to Censor.NET, The New York Post writes about it.
A senior U.S. official involved in negotiations with Ukraine said Kellogg urged Zelensky to sign the agreement during the envoy's visit to Kyiv last week, but Yermak insisted on signing the deal at the White House.
According to the newspaper, after three days of intense negotiations, Kellogg agreed on a deal with Ukraine.
"Kellogg and Zelenskyy agreed on a deal with one item that has yet to be finalised," the US official said of the talks, which ended on 21 February.
However, after the talks, the head of the President's Office, Andrii Yermak, insisted that Zelenskyy go to Trump to sign the agreement at the White House.
Kellogg advised to do otherwise, as the relationship (between Zelensky and Trump - Ed.) "needs to be strengthened" before a face-to-face meeting.
However, a source familiar with Yermak's tactics said that Zelenskyy's office "continued to force the issue".
The publication notes that Kellogg was ready to leave, almost leaving Ukraine without a deal to present to Trump. However, the Office of the President "changed course" at the last minute and sent documents to the train Kellogg was travelling on to leave Ukraine.
Even after that, Kyiv promoted the plan to conclude a deal in Washington, the media reported.
Several Ukrainian sources told the newspaper that Zelenskyy's team had forced the visit to the United States.
One US official said that during his meeting with Trump, "Zelenskyy played as wrong as he could play".
"He came into the Oval Office acting like a tough guy. It didn't play well. Everyone in the room felt insulted. Now Zelenskyy will have to figure out how to fix it himself. We can't fix it for him," he said.
He noted that Zelenskyy did not wear a suit to an important meeting, but rather casual trousers and a black long-sleeved shirt.
"Wearing a suit may seem like a small thing, and I know that (Zelenskyy - Ed.) prefers his style to the military, but it was the wrong choice," he added.
