Ukraine says visit of Trump’s special envoy to take place ‘in due time’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday that the visit of US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy for Russia and Ukraine to Kyiv will take place “in due time.”

“The meeting and visit of General (Keith) Kellogg are extremely important for us. I am sure that this meeting will take place in due time. We are in contact to clearly define the timeframe for its implementation and to fill it with maximum content,” Sybiha told a joint press conference with his Icelandic counterpart Katrin Gunnarsdottir in Kyiv.

Sybiha said Kyiv hopes the first visits to Ukraine by officials from the new US administration will take place after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

In December, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said Kyiv expects Kellogg to visit Ukraine, suggesting a preliminary date had been set, which could not be disclosed due to “security reasons.”

On Nov. 27, Trump nominated Kellogg to be Washington's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, the countries that have been at war since February 2022.

The retired lieutenant general has served as the national security adviser under Vice President Mike Pence during Trump's first term.

Trump has pledged to end the nearly three-year-old conflict swiftly.