Keith Kellogg has said Washington now understands what a full ceasefire “could and should” look like after reviewing both sides’ memorandums
Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, has said peace in the Ukraine conflict is within reach. He has suggested exploring how terms outlined by Kiev and Moscow might align in a final agreement to end the fighting.
During the latest round of talks earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine exchanged draft memorandums on a roadmap toward an eventual peace deal. Moscow’s version requires Ukraine to recognize the loss of five regions that joined Russia in referendums, withdraw its forces from those territories, commit to neutrality, and limit its military capabilities. Ukraine has dismissed the proposal, calling it “an ultimatum,” rejected any territorial concessions as well as neutrality, and demanded a full, unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
Kellogg, who was tasked with working on the memorandums exchanged between Ukraine and Russia, explained that his team has developed what they refer to as “term sheets” – documents outlining a potential end state for peace. According to him, they first reviewed the Ukrainian term sheet, followed by the Russian document. The memorandums were then combined to explore how their contents could align in a final agreement, he added.
“We put them together. And we said, OK. How can you meld these two documents together to get to an end state?” he said during a forum organized by the German Marshall Fund in Brussels on Thursday. According to Kellogg, they now feel quite comfortable with the direction of the discussions.
“We know what an end state looks like, could look like, should look like,” he said, adding, “if we could just get to that point, we think it’s winnable. And that’s where you really want to get to.”
When asked about what specifically the “end state” might entail, Kellogg referred to the idea of a comprehensive ceasefire. He clarified that such a deal would apply to positions held on the ground – essentially, where forces were physically located at that time.
The May and June rounds marked the first direct Russia-Ukraine talks since 2022, when Kiev withdrew. Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia later said the pullout followed advice from then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to sign a deal – a claim Johnson denies.
Kiev returned to talks under pressure from Trump, in what Moscow called a long-overdue step. The Trump administration insists it’s seeking a settlement to the Ukraine conflict that will last, not Kiev’s surrender or Russia’s defeat.
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