THE GUARDIAN:
Keith Kellogg tells countries to offer concrete solutions and boost spending instead of complaining about talks role
Europe will be consulted – but ultimately excluded – from the planned peace talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine, Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine has revealed.
Asked if Europe would be present at the planned talks, Keith Kellogg said he was from “the school of realism, and that is not going to happen”.
“It may be like chalk on the blackboard, it may grate a little bit, but I am telling you something that is really quite honest,” he said on Saturday.
“And to my European friends, I would say: get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up [defence] spending.”
Kellogg’s remarks will cause consternation among some European leaders who do not trust Trump and believe their country’s security is inextricably interwoven with the fate of Ukraine. The Polish foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, had invited European leaders to Paris on Monday to discuss the situation.
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Patrick Wintour in Munich | Saturday, February 15, 2025