Kyiv: US Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg stated that a deal to end the war in Ukraine is very close, but its conclusion depends on resolving the future of the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

According to Qatar News Agency, Kellogg described the negotiations as being in the final, most challenging stages and highlighted that the two main unresolved matters are territorial. The first concerns the future of Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk areas. The second issue is the future of Europe’s largest nuclear facility, Zaporizhzhia, currently under Russian control.

Kellogg expressed optimism, saying that if the two issues were resolved, the rest will fall into place. He also noted the Heavy human toll, with Russia and Ukraine together suffering more than two million casualties since the start of the war.

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that He Held a long and substantive phone call with Steve Whitkoff, former special envoy of US President Donald Trump, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The Kremlin meanwhile said on Friday that it expects Kushner to play a key role in drafting a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.