Trump envoy Kellogg explains U.S. aid suspension to Ukraine

Kellogg made these remarks during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, as reported by The Guardian.

When asked by journalists to comment on President Donald Trump’s decision to halt American aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Kellogg responded: “I believe the push is to get them to engage in diplomatic activities… [to get] for lack of a better term, their term sheet, to get this to the table and say, this is an approach to going forward.” 

He added: “So, more than anything, it’s a forcing function to get to the realization that we wanted to go to a peace discussion, a peace deal.” 

Background

President Trump has not publicly announced a halt in arms supplies to Ukraine. However, American media outlets have reported that he ordered a stop to all current military assistance to Ukraine until he is convinced that the country’s leaders “demonstrate a sincere commitment to peace.”

On Wednesday, March 5, CIA Director John Ratcliffe officially announced a temporary suspension of providing weapons and intelligence data to Ukraine. Nevertheless, Bloomberg, citing a Ukrainian official, claims that Kyiv continues to receive U.S. intelligence information.

U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, in an interview with Fox News, stated that President Trump would consider resuming aid to Ukraine if peace negotiations are organized and “confidence-building measures” are implemented. White House officials indicated that both bans could be lifted if peace talks make progress. 

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt described the temporary suspension of American aid to Ukraine as a “pause for verification.”