President Donald Trumps special envoy to Ukraine and Russia was absent from recent talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine at the Kremlins request, NBC News reported Wednesday, mentioning a United States administration official and a Russian official.Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant basic and decorated Vietnam War veteran, was not at the negotiating table at 2 recent summits in Saudi Arabia where Russian and Ukrainian authorities took turns meeting with United States officials.Kellogg is a former American general, too near Ukraine.
Not our kind of individual, not of the quality we are looking for, NBC News priced estimate an anonymous senior Russian authorities as saying.A confidential United States authorities validated this to NBC News.NBC News priced quote previous Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov as stating the decision to exclude him was because of Kelloggs position to freeze the cutting edge in Ukraine.
Russia wants Ukraine to entirely withdraw from all 4 of the regions that Russia annexed in 2022 despite not fully managing any of them, according to Fedorov.Steve Witkoff, Trumps unique envoy to the Middle East, has taken on a leading role in negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war instead of Kellogg.Witkoff satisfied President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday for a 2nd time to discuss how to end the war.After United States President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian equivalent Volodymyr Zelensky for being a totalitarian without elections, Kellogg took a softer position, calling Zelensky the embattled and brave leader of a nation at war.Indications of Kelloggs stance on the Russia-Ukraine war can be found in America First, Russia - & Ukraine, an April 2024 method paper he co-authored while functioning as co-chairman of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute believe tank.In the paper, Kellogg stated the needed America First method needed a strong United States military, sensible use of military force and working in alliances and with partners to promote regional security while needing alliance members and allies to bring their full weight in defending security in the region.Kellogg has actually slammed former United States President Joe Bidens piecemeal support of Ukraine and stated a peace offer ought to involve the security guarantees.To persuade Putin to join peace talks, President Biden and other NATO leaders should offer to postpone NATO subscription for Ukraine for a prolonged duration in exchange for a thorough and verifiable peace deal with security guarantees, the report said.Fred Fleitz, former chief of staff of the National Security Council, was co-author of the paper.