US offers Ukraine to hold elections by the end of the year on one condition - mass media

The United States wants Ukraine to hold elections, possibly before the end of the year, especially if Kiev can negotiate a ceasefire with Russia in the coming months. President Donald Trump's top Ukraine official told Reuters, reports UNN.

Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said in an interview that presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine, suspended during the war with Russia, “need to be held.

“Most democracies hold elections during times of war. I think it's important that they do,” Kellogg said. “I think it's good for democracy. That's the beauty of a robust democracy: you have more than one person who can run for office.

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Earlier, Trump and Kellogg said they are working on a plan to broker a deal in the first few months of the new administration to end the all-out war that broke out with a full-scale invasion of oossia in February 2022.

They have provided few details about their strategy for ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, or when they might unveil such a plan.

Trump's plan is still evolving and no policy decisions have been made, but Kellogg and other White House officials have discussed in recent days pushing Ukraine to agree to elections as part of an initial truce with Russia, said two people with knowledge of those conversations and a former U.S. official briefed on the election proposal.

Trump officials are also discussing whether to pursue an initial ceasefire before trying to strike a more permanent deal, two people familiar with the Trump administration's discussions said. If a presidential election is held in Ukraine, the winner could be responsible for negotiating a long-term pact with Moscow, the sources said.

The sources declined to give their names to discuss sensitive political and security issues.

It is unclear how such a proposal by Trump would be met in Kiev. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine could hold elections this year if fighting stops and credible security guarantees are provided to deter Russia from resuming hostilities.

A senior Kiev adviser and a Ukrainian government source said that the Trump administration has not yet formally asked Ukraine to hold presidential elections before the end of the year.