U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg believes that it is currently impossible for Ukraine to regain all its territories within its 2014 borders. Therefore, he suggests that Ukraine should cede some territory without officially recognizing it as part of Russia.
He made this statement in an interview with Fox News, as reported by Ukrinform.
“You are not going back to 2014 [borders] and what they [Ukrainians] had before the Russians went into Crimea. That’s understandable. So I think what we are going to have is some type of agreement on the potential loss of territory. But, look, you don’t necessarily have to acknowledge that,” he said.
Kellogg compared the situation to the Baltic states, whose annexation by the Soviet Union was never recognized by the U.S.
“We said that they were just under Soviet domination. And I think, maybe, if you look at this for a long term, the potential long term, but that’s part of the negotiations,” he said.
He emphasized the need for a sustainable and long-term security agreement involving all parties, stating that much of the responsibility lies with Europe: “This is in their best interest to do it.”