President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia hinted that there might not be a place at the table for Europe during peace negotiations with Russia.
Asked if Europeans had a role in talks between Russia and Ukraine, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said at a security conference in Germany over the weekend that he was “from the school of realism, and that is not going to happen.”
The comments come as Trump presses ahead with plans to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia, which includes planned meetings between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia this week.
But European allies might not be included in future talks, Kellogg made clear during his remarks in Munich, arguing that too many voices adds to the risk of derailing negotiations for peace.
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Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“What we don’t want to do is get into a large group discussion,” Kellogg said, noting that Trump is pressing to have a deal done within “days and weeks” and not on a longer timetable.
“You got to give us a bit of breathing space and time, but when I say that, I’m not talking six months,” he said.
The comments come just a day after Vice President JD Vance ripped into European leaders during a speech at the same conference, arguing that European domestic policies limiting free speech were a bigger threat to the continent than Russia.
“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor,” he said. “What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”
The remarks by U.S. leaders at the conference have left their European counterparts in shock, according to a report from Reuters, which noted that many European delegates were left worrying about continued U.S. military protection of the continent and the details of a deal brokered in Ukraine with little European involvement.
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Speaking to Newsweek, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said she was still “trying to decipher” the meaning of Kellogg’s remarks over the weekend, though admitted that she found them a “concern.”
“This is about Russia, but this is also about Europe,” she said. “It’s also difficult for foreign leaders to be reacting constantly to unsure comments.”
“We feel like Ukraine has to be at the table, and Europe does, too,” she added.
That sentiment was echoed by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who argued that Europe will have to “act more strongly” in response to the U.S. push.
“If Trump is negotiating with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin about Europe, then it is impossible to talk about Europe without us,” he told NewsWeek.
Macron has reportedly called a special meeting about Trump. (Getty Images | AP Images)
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French President Emmanuel Macron responded to the developments by calling on European leaders to convene an emergency meeting in Paris, which is expected to center on U.S. efforts to exclude European countries from peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Those expected to be in attendance at the Paris meeting include NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and the leaders of Germany, Italy, the U.K. and Poland, according to a report from the Guardian.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to attend the meetings, though he stressed the importance of keeping the European and U.S. alliance together.
“The U.K. will work to ensure we keep the U.S. and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face,” Starmer said, according to the Guardian report.
Prospects for a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly three-year-old invasion in Ukraine have seemingly intensified in recent weeks, most notably after Trump held separate phone calls with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Keith Kellogg is the U.S. special envoy to Ukraine and Russia. (Getty Images)
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At a later event at the conference, Kellogg made clear that European interests would still be considered at the bargaining table, noting that the U.S. would simply hope to serve as an intermediary in talks between Russia and Ukraine, the two main protagonists in the conflict.
Meanwhile, Rutte urged European leaders to get serious if they hope to be involved in the peace process.
“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 (defense) spending,” the NATO secretary-general said at the conference.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
