Kellogg: US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine should push Kyiv toward peace negotiations
US Special Representative to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said that US President Donald Trump's decisions to suspend military aid and intelligence sharing are aimed at "pushing Ukraine to negotiate."
He said this during a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., Censor.NET reports citing The Guardian.
Kellogg was also asked about the conditions under which the United States could resume providing military assistance to Ukraine.
"I believe this step is aimed at getting them to engage in diplomatic initiatives to sit down at the negotiating table and say: this is the approach to further action. We know that both sides will have both differences and common ground. ... So, first of all, it's more of a mechanism to force the realization that we want to move to a discussion of peace, to a peace agreement," said Trump's special envoy.
He added that the US decision is only a pause, not a complete cessation of military assistance to Ukraine.
"The reason why [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy] came to the White House was to sign a document [the minerals agreement] that would show that we are moving forward. But it was not signed. I believe, and my personal opinion is that until there is a signed document, we cannot move forward," Kellogg said.
He believes that Zelenskyy had the opportunity to sign the agreement during the special envoy's visit to Kyiv.
"They [in Ukraine - ed.] had the opportunity to do it last week - and they didn't do it again," Kellogg added.
Suspension of US aid
On the morning of March 4, it became known that US President Donald Trump had ordered the suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine in order to force Kyiv to demonstrate a "good faith commitment" to peace.
One U.S. official told CNN that the consequences of the suspension of U.S. military aid will be felt in some time. Perhaps a few days or weeks. However, as soon as the stockpiles of weapons and armaments begin to run out, the country will face serious consequences.
According to journalist Ostap Yarysh, the US decision to suspend assistance to Ukraine will primarily affect the supply of missiles to air defense and ammunition for HIMARS and artillery.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasized that the US decision to temporarily suspend military aid to Ukraine means that Europe must help Ukraine more and faster than before to fill this gap.
The Economist article says that the US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine will lead to more casualties and destruction. The critical elements, the newspaper writes, are weapons, their repair, air defense missiles, the Starlink system, and, perhaps most importantly, intelligence sharing.
Chief National Security Advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Marius Česnulevičius, said that Washington's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine was not a surprise. However, Europe is preparing a response.
Later, The Economist wrote that there is currently no official order from Donald Trump to suspend military aid to Ukraine.
