"KYIV, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine is anticipating high-level engagement with the incoming U.S. administration once Donald Trump assumes office, aiming for a meeting between the U.S. president-elect and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian capital announced on Friday.
Kyiv considers the establishment of strong bonds with Trump a top priority and has been reaching out to the Republican victor of the U.S. presidential election in November, pledging swift action to end Russia's extensive conflict with Ukraine spanning nearly three years.
"We are looking forward to a meeting between our presidents because our primary focus is to collaborate with America... we are gearing up for interactions at the topmost and upper echelons right after the inauguration," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi informed journalists during a briefing in Kyiv.
Trump has indicated a readiness to convene with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a means to resolve the conflict.
Kyiv has previously objected to Western leaders engaging with Putin, claiming that such gestures confer legitimacy on an outcast and diminish the isolation of the Russian leader; however, there has been no opposition voiced against a potential meeting between Trump and Putin.
Trump has designated retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg to serve as his special envoy for matters pertaining to the conflict.
Sources disclosed to Reuters earlier this week that a fact-finding mission to Kyiv and other European capitals by Kellogg had been postponed until after Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
Tykhyi clarified on Friday that the delay was due to legal rather than political considerations, citing the Logan Act, which restricts the ability of private Americans to engage in negotiations concerning U.S. disputes with foreign officials."