U.S. envoy Kellogg says Ukraine peace talks near final stage. Discussions focus on Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, territories, and security guarantees, with negotiations ongoing between U.S., Ukraine, and Russia.

The U.S. special presidential envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, stated that a peace agreement to end Russia’s war against Ukraine is supposedly approaching the final stage. He made the remarks at the Ronald Reagan National Defense Forum, according to Radio Svoboda.

«When we talk about Ukraine, where we are today compared to where we were a year or two ago, if you are a soldier, especially infantry, you understand that the last 10 meters to the goal are always the hardest. And I think we are in the last 10 meters of trying to end this conflict,» he said at the forum.

According to him, the current focus is on the issues of the Donetsk region and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russian forces.

Kellogg believes that «the rest of the matters will be resolved fairly well.»

The U.S. presidential special envoy reminded that the scale of this war is unprecedented when it comes to a regional conflict.

«The Soviet Union left Afghanistan, losing 18,000 (soldiers). We left Vietnam, losing 58,000. Russia and Ukraine together have lost over two million. Think about that. These are terrible numbers. And that’s why we need to end the conflict… So I think we are almost there,» he said.

The U.S. special presidential envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, stated that there are only «two meters» left to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, and he supported the peace initiative of the Donald Trump administration.

On November 23, the day of the meeting in Geneva with representatives from the U.S., Ukraine, and European countries regarding Trump’s peace initiative, he said that only «two meters» remain to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Late in the evening of December 2, in Moscow, talks concluded between U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian leader Vladimir Putin regarding the parameters of a possible peace agreement in the Russia-Ukraine war. After the discussion, Putin’s aide Yuriy Ushakov stated that «so far, no compromise solution (for a peaceful settlement) has been found, but some of the American proposals look more or less acceptable.»

Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that during the meeting with Witkoff and Kushner on December 2, Russian representatives did not agree with some points of the U.S. plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Putin noted that they had to «go through each point» of the peace initiative during the meeting. Earlier, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov had said that the points were not discussed in detail, and the conversation focused more on the overall concept.

After this meeting, the Ukrainian delegation in the U.S. continued negotiations with representatives of the Trump administration.

On the evening of December 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that, together with Andriy Hnatov and Rustem Umerov, they held a «long and substantive» phone conversation with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

According to Axios, the conversation lasted about two hours, and the discussion regarding territories was complex. The publication notes that Russia still demands that Ukraine withdraw forces from areas of Donbas under Russian control, but the U.S. is trying to develop new ideas to overcome this issue.

«Another key issue was U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine. One source reported that the parties made significant progress and came closer to agreement, but more work is needed to ensure both sides interpret the draft security guarantees in the same way,» Axios notes.

EMPR