U.S. President Donald Trump is considering various levers of pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war, including economic ones, said Keith Kellogg, Trump’s pick for the position of special representative for Ukraine and Russia.
Kellogg stated this on Friday in an interview with Fox News, Ukrinform reports.
Kellogg noted that he spoke with Trump on this topic this morning, adding that, in his opinion, Trump is the only one who can end the war.
He considers the economy as part of this war, the retired general emphasized.
In particular, he is considering the possibility of making oil cheaper as Russia receives billions of dollars from its sale. Prices may drop to $45 a barrel, which is essentially the break-even point, Kellogg noted, adding that this is what the U.S. president is starting from. To that end, he is also negotiating with the North Koreans and the Chinese, he said.
According to the candidate for the post of the special envoy, Putin is oblivious to the heavy losses of the Russian military so, when addressing Putin it is unfeasible to appeal to him, urging the Russian leader to “stop the killing” because this is not part of the Russian mentality so this requires a different approach.
Trump understands this and, unlike former President Joe Biden, who emphasized that America would help Ukraine for as long as it takes and keeps providing weapons, he advocates different approaches.
This is an important point but there are others that are no less important, Kellogg says adding that the president, in his opinion, is aware of that and will strive for this. Kellogg expressed confidence that Donald trump will be able to see it through.
Answering a question about the possibility of Ukraine using Russian assets to buy American weapons, he indicated that the is a topic on the table.
The Trump team has repeatedly spoken about using frozen Russian assets to buy American weapons, and this will be discussed with the president, he said. Although, in his opinion, this is not something that will solve the problem.
Kellogg added that all these options are being offered to Trump so that he can choose which one he prefers.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, Kellogg believes agreements on ending the war can be reached within 100 days of the new administration’s term in office.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump instructed Kellogg to find a way to end the war in Ukraine within a hundred days.
Photo: Getty Images
Source: Trump eyeing various options for putting pressure on Putin to end war - Kellogg
