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Moscow ousts Trump’s Ukraine envoy from peace discussions
(MENAFN) U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has been excluded from peace negotiations at Moscow’s request, NBC News reported on Thursday, citing sources. Russian officials reportedly view the retired U.S. army lieutenant general as too hawkish and too closely aligned with Ukraine.
Kellogg was notably absent from last month’s U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia and this week’s U.S.-Ukraine discussions in Jeddah. Instead, the White House confirmed that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent Washington in upcoming negotiations with Russia. Witkoff arrived in Moscow late Thursday.
An unnamed Russian official told NBC that Kellogg was “too close to Ukraine” and not the type of negotiator Moscow was looking for. A Trump administration source also confirmed that Russia objected to Kellogg’s involvement, while another suggested the decision was a personal blow to him. Neither Kellogg’s office nor Moscow has commented on the matter.
Despite supporting Trump’s calls for peace, Kellogg’s stance has diverged from Moscow’s. He has advocated for continued U.S. aid to Ukraine, proposed freezing the conflict along current frontlines—an idea Russia rejects—and supported using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, a move Moscow has condemned as theft.
Political analyst Malek Dudakov suggested in an interview with RT Russian that Kellogg’s exclusion may be permanent. He linked it to last month’s tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, which reportedly escalated into a heated exchange when Zelensky resisted Trump’s push for negotiations with Moscow. The fallout allegedly delayed a key U.S.-Ukraine rare-earth minerals deal and led to a temporary suspension of U.S. military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kiev.
“Kellogg was in charge of coordinating with the Ukrainian side, and we see that it all led to a major failure. Now, he will no longer be part of any future negotiations,” Dudakov stated.
Kellogg was notably absent from last month’s U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia and this week’s U.S.-Ukraine discussions in Jeddah. Instead, the White House confirmed that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent Washington in upcoming negotiations with Russia. Witkoff arrived in Moscow late Thursday.
An unnamed Russian official told NBC that Kellogg was “too close to Ukraine” and not the type of negotiator Moscow was looking for. A Trump administration source also confirmed that Russia objected to Kellogg’s involvement, while another suggested the decision was a personal blow to him. Neither Kellogg’s office nor Moscow has commented on the matter.
Despite supporting Trump’s calls for peace, Kellogg’s stance has diverged from Moscow’s. He has advocated for continued U.S. aid to Ukraine, proposed freezing the conflict along current frontlines—an idea Russia rejects—and supported using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, a move Moscow has condemned as theft.
Political analyst Malek Dudakov suggested in an interview with RT Russian that Kellogg’s exclusion may be permanent. He linked it to last month’s tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, which reportedly escalated into a heated exchange when Zelensky resisted Trump’s push for negotiations with Moscow. The fallout allegedly delayed a key U.S.-Ukraine rare-earth minerals deal and led to a temporary suspension of U.S. military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kiev.
“Kellogg was in charge of coordinating with the Ukrainian side, and we see that it all led to a major failure. Now, he will no longer be part of any future negotiations,” Dudakov stated.
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