Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's particular envoy for Ukraine and Russia, dismissed the potential for Ukraine regaining nuclear energy standing in an interview with Fox Information on Feb. 6.
"The prospect of them getting their nuclear weapons again is someplace between slim and none," Kellogg stated. "Let's be sincere about it, we each know that's not going to occur."
His remarks comply with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's latest feedback suggesting that if Ukraine's NATO accession stays blocked, the U.S. ought to present another safety assure, together with nuclear weapons.
"The president stated we're a authorities of frequent sense," Kellogg added. "When somebody means that, contemplate the result or potential — use your frequent sense."
Zelensky acknowledged that gaining NATO membership might take "years or many years" and raised considerations about how Ukraine would defend itself within the meantime.
Ukraine formally utilized to hitch NATO on the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 however has but to obtain an invite, with international locations such because the U.S., Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia resisting its entry.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
As Trump pushes for negotiations to finish the conflict , Russia has made an entire ban on Ukraine's NATO accession certainly one of its core calls for.
Ukraine relinquished its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal beneath the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, becoming a member of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in change for safety assurances from the U.S., U.Okay., and Russia.
Moscow later violated the settlement by occupying Crimea and components of japanese Ukraine in 2014 and launching a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Whereas the conflict has renewed discussions on whether or not Ukraine ought to rebuild its nuclear deterrent, Kyiv maintains that NATO membership stays its greatest safety assure and has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.
Kellogg will attend the Munich Safety Convention from Feb. 14 to 16, the place he’ll meet with world leaders to debate Russia's conflict in Ukraine and assess positions on negotiations.
"As you develop the plans to finish this carnage, you must just remember to've bought the texture of everyone in play," Kellogg stated.
"As soon as we get to have these face-to-face discussions, then you possibly can actually type of work … on concessions."
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy