Keith Kellogg, Trump's emissary for Ukraine, before the meeting at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, February 18, 2025. Credit Line: Wiktor Dabkowski / Eyevine / Profimedia
The special envoy of US President Donald Trump to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Russia's concern about NATO expansion is justified and that the United States does not want Ukraine to be part of the US military alliance, Reuters reports.
Asked by the American position ABC News the fact that Russia wants a written commitment from NATO that it will not expand to the east to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, Kellogg replied: “It is a fair concern.”
“I said that, for us, Ukraine's accession to NATO is not in question and we are not the only country that says this-I could probably give you an example of four other countries in NATO and it takes 32 of the 32 countries to allow NATO accession,” Kellogg said on Thursday evening for ABC. “This is one of the problems that Russia will raise.”
“I'm not just talking about Ukraine, I'm talking about Georgia, I'm talking about Moldova,” Kellogg said, adding that the US position for NATO's extension lies with Trump.
Kellogg said the peace negotiation process will include an attempt to merge the two memorandums written by Ukraine and Russia in a single document, during discussions in Turkey on Monday.
“When we get to Istanbul next week, we will sit at the table and discuss,” Kellogg said, adding that national security advisers in Germany, France and the United Kingdom will join the discussions on the Memorandum with the United States.
Kellogg said Trump was “frustrated” by Russia, because he had noticed “a level of irrationality” from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He rebuked Russia for attacks on Ukrainian cities and said he asked Ukraine to go to negotiations.
A conservative estimate of the number of dead and injured in the Ukraine war – from both camps – amounts to 1.2 million, Kellogg said.
“It is an amazing number – it is an industrial war,” Kellogg told ABC.
