Trump limits Kellogg’s role to Ukraine envoy after Russian complaints
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General Keith Kellogg (right) visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in February.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said on March 15 that General Keith Kellogg’s role has been narrowed from special envoy for Ukraine and Russia to only Ukraine, after Russian officials had sought to exclude him from talks aiming to end the war.
“General Kellogg, a Highly Respected Military Expert, will deal directly with President (Volodymyr Zelensky), and Ukrainian leadership,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“He knows them well, and they have a very good working relationship together.”
Russian officials had communicated to their counterparts in the United States that they did not want Gen Kellogg involved in top-level discussions aimed at ending the Ukraine war, sources told Reuters this week.
Some high-ranking former Russian officials have complained that he was, in their view, too sympathetic to Kyiv.
The general, 80, has been absent from some high-level discussions in recent weeks, including a meeting involving US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia on March 11.
The US and Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire
Gen Kellogg was also absent from a high-level meeting with the Russians in Saudi Arabia in February. REUTERS
