US: Europe will not be a party to Ukraine peace talks

The US Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine said that Europe will not be a party to the Ukraine peace talks, but its interests will be taken into account.

US Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg responded negatively to a question on whether Europeans would be at the negotiating table regarding Ukraine, in a statement he made at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, according to Reuters.

Kellogg said that the Ukrainians would participate in these talks, "of course." The Ukrainian website "Kyiv Independent" also wrote in a report that Kellogg announced that Europe would not participate in negotiations to end the war with Russia, but its interests would be taken into account.

Referring to the 2015 Minsk agreement involving Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg said at the time, "there were too many parties at the table and it didn't work."

Kellogg therefore argued that he would not be involved in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The US Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine stressed that it was possible to end the war this year and asked "all parties" to "contribute" to achieving this goal.

Kellogg also said US President Donald Trump "will not compromise on important interests" and that Washington would help Ukraine, but "the carnage must stop".

These statements come at a time when European countries continue to demand participation in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine./