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Moscow excludes Trump’s Ukraine envoy from peace discussions
(MENAFN) Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, has been excluded from peace negotiations at Moscow’s request, according to NBC News. Russian officials reportedly see Kellogg as too hawkish and too aligned with Ukraine. The retired US army lieutenant general was absent from both last month’s Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia and this week’s US-Ukraine discussions in Jeddah.
Instead of Kellogg, the White House confirmed that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent the US at the next round of negotiations with Russia. Witkoff arrived in Moscow late Thursday.
A Russian official told NBC, “Kellogg is a former American general, too close to Ukraine,” and added that he didn’t fit the type of person Russia wanted at the table. A Trump administration official also acknowledged that Moscow was not interested in Kellogg’s involvement in the peace process, and sources close to him revealed that Kellogg felt slighted by his exclusion. Neither Kellogg’s office nor Russian authorities have commented publicly on the matter.
Though Kellogg has supported Trump’s efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, his views on how to achieve peace have been at odds with Moscow. He has endorsed continued US support for Ukraine, which Russia argues only prolongs the war, and has proposed freezing the conflict along current front lines—an idea Moscow rejects in favor of a comprehensive settlement. Additionally, Kellogg has suggested using frozen Russian assets to help rebuild and rearm Ukraine, a concept Moscow has condemned as theft.
Political analyst Malek Dudakov speculated in an interview that Kellogg’s exclusion could be permanent after tensions flared between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a meeting last month, leading to a shouting match and a disrupted US-Ukraine deal. According to Dudakov, Kellogg was blamed for the communication failures, which ultimately led to the negotiation breakdown.
Instead of Kellogg, the White House confirmed that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent the US at the next round of negotiations with Russia. Witkoff arrived in Moscow late Thursday.
A Russian official told NBC, “Kellogg is a former American general, too close to Ukraine,” and added that he didn’t fit the type of person Russia wanted at the table. A Trump administration official also acknowledged that Moscow was not interested in Kellogg’s involvement in the peace process, and sources close to him revealed that Kellogg felt slighted by his exclusion. Neither Kellogg’s office nor Russian authorities have commented publicly on the matter.
Though Kellogg has supported Trump’s efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, his views on how to achieve peace have been at odds with Moscow. He has endorsed continued US support for Ukraine, which Russia argues only prolongs the war, and has proposed freezing the conflict along current front lines—an idea Moscow rejects in favor of a comprehensive settlement. Additionally, Kellogg has suggested using frozen Russian assets to help rebuild and rearm Ukraine, a concept Moscow has condemned as theft.
Political analyst Malek Dudakov speculated in an interview that Kellogg’s exclusion could be permanent after tensions flared between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a meeting last month, leading to a shouting match and a disrupted US-Ukraine deal. According to Dudakov, Kellogg was blamed for the communication failures, which ultimately led to the negotiation breakdown.
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