The scheduled press conference between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski and the US envoy to Ukraine has been canceled on Thursday at the requestof the United States, as reported by a Kiev official, according to AP.
"The press conference between Zelenski and retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, special envoy of President Donald Trump for Ukraine and Russia, has been canceled after their meeting," said the spokesperson for Ukrainian President, Serhii Nikiforov.
Kellogg's visit to Kiev coincided with recent disputes between Trump and Zelenski that have strained their personal relationship and raised doubts about the future of US support for Ukraine's efforts to defend against the Russian invasion.
Nikiforov has not provided any reason other than the cancellation being at the request of the United States. The US delegation has not commented.
When the meeting started on Thursday, photographers and cameras were allowed into a room where the two shook hands before sitting across from each other at a table in the presidential office in Kiev. They were supposed to discuss Trump's efforts to end the nearly three-year war.
Zelenski welcomed Kellogg after being harshly criticized by Trump, who called him a "dictator" and suggested that Russia now holds "all the cards" in negotiations to end the war.
This diatribe has raised fears of a break between Washington and Kiev, as Ukraine relies on US assistance to resist the Russian invasion that began three years ago.
The Kremlin announced on Thursday that it had decided with Washington to resume dialogue "in all parameters", stating it was "absolutely in agreement" with the US position on Ukraine.
In this hostile context, Zelenski, weakened by this rapprochement between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, nevertheless expressed hope for "constructive" work during the meeting.
"Our future is not with Putin, but with peace. And it is a choice for everyone - including the most powerful - to be with Putin or to be with peace," he stated on the eve of the meeting.
Upon his arrival in Kiev on Wednesday, Keith Kellogg adopted a more conciliatory tone and stated that he understood Ukraine's need for "security guarantees."
Just days before the third anniversary of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Zelenski reiterated that Ukraine has wanted an end to this war "from its first seconds," after Trump accused him of starting the conflict.
Trump and Zelenski exchanged unprecedented personal attacks a day after US-Russia negotiations in Saudi Arabia, the first meeting at the level of foreign ministers since the conflict began.
The US president then cited, among other things, two false figures about Zelenski's popularity and urged him again to hold elections, while the war continues, millions of Ukrainians have fled abroad, and 20% of the territory is under Russian occupation.
"Dictator without elections, Zelenski should act quickly or he will have no country left," Trump declared on Wednesday on his Truth Social platform.
Prior to this latest accusation, Zelenski had accused the White House tenant of living in "a space of Russian disinformation" and helping Putin "emerge from years of isolation."
Faced with the severity of Trump's accusations, the Ukrainian president received support from several European leaders, especially German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"Ukraine is a democracy, Putin's Russia is not," stated a European Union spokesperson, Stefan Keersmaecker, who added that Zelenski had been "legitimately elected in free, fair, and democratic elections."
Spanish Prime Minister, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, announced that he would travel to Kiev on Monday, the day of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, to "reaffirm Spain's support for Ukrainian democracy."