America’s Russia-Ukraine envoy has reportedly informed allies that he is preparing ‘end of war’ options to present to President Donald Trump in a bid to end the conflict.
Â
Keith Kellogg has told US allies in recent meetings that he is drafting options to present to Trump, according to the Semafor news site.
Â
He denied reports that he would be in a position to bring forward a proposal at the Munich Security Conference this week.
Â
US allies had expected the Trump administration to present a plan in Germany, Bloomberg reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
Â
Donald Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday that he believed that the U.S. was making progress towards ending the war.
Â
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war and that he will meet Putin to discuss it, though the date or venue for a summit is still not publicly known.
Â
The Kremlin has been equally cryptic in addressing talks with the U.S., saying today that it could neither confirm nor deny whether the two leaders had yet spoken to discuss a way to end the war.Â
Â
Asked whether he had had a conversation with Putin since he became president on January 20 or before, Trump said: ‘I’ve had it. Let’s just say I’ve had it…And I expect to have many more conversations. We have to get that war ended.’
Â
‘If we are talking, I don’t want to tell you about the conversations,’ Trump said.
Â
‘There certainly are a lot of sensitive conversations going on,’ U.S. national security advisor Mike Waltz told NBC, suggesting Trump could use sanctions and tariffs to force Russia’s hand.
Â
Putin said last year that a deal would hinge upon Ukraine’s recognition of Russia’s claim to four regions in its east and south, including areas not controlled by Moscow.
Â
Putin is said to be open to discussing a Ukraine peace deal with Trump but rules out making any major territorial concessions and insists Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO, Reuters reported in November.