“Europe, sort it out yourselves”: U.S. President’s special envoy Kellogg suggested Trump could exit negotiations on Ukraine

U.S. President’s special representative Keith Kellogg has suggested that Donald Trump may withdraw from negotiations on Ukraine.

He said this during an appearance on ABC News.

“If he feels that he’s being taken advantage of and that no progress is in sight, he will essentially say: ‘That’s it, we’re done with this. Europe, it’s yours now. Sort it out yourselves,’” Kellogg said in response to a question about the conditions under which Trump might exit the peace process.

When asked, “What would happen to Ukraine then?” Kellogg stated that “it’s not just about Ukraine,” but about preventing a major escalation globally.

“It’s about the whole world. Because now the situation is completely different from Trump’s first term. Back then we had: Russia separately, China separately, Iran separately, North Korea separately. Now they’re all working together. And they have agreements—partnerships or even military ones, like with North Korea. This raises the risk level sharply if you don’t keep an eye on it. Very bad things can happen, and then you’ll be forced into a reaction mode,” he said.

In this context, Kellogg suggested that if the war continues, North Korean troops could appear in Ukraine.

“This could hypothetically happen: North Korea sends combat units to help Russia, and they meet Ukrainian forces on the battlefield in Ukraine. They’ve already met near Kursk. But the reverse could also happen: under the agreement, if war breaks out between South and North Korea, Russia is obligated to send its troops to support North Korea. And then you could see Russian troops on the Korean Peninsula. Do you really want that? I don’t think anyone does,” Kellogg said.

“That’s why I talked about the escalation ladder: if you’ve started to climb, how do you get back down? And in such moments you need sensible people who understand the risks and are capable of acting wisely,” the Trump special representative added.

Kellogg also urged Ukraine to participate in the second round of negotiations with Russia and stated that the U.S. is prepared to halt NATO expansion.