US presidential envoy Keith Kellogg told ABC News in a Thursday interview that Russia’s concerns over NATO expansion are “fair”.
Moscow this week demanded of the West a written commitment to stop further enlargement, especially when it comes to the potential for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia one day entering the NATO alliance. “It’s a fair concern and we’ve said that repeatedly… that to us Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table,“ Kellogg said.
“And they’re not just talking Ukraine – they’re talking the country of Georgia, they’re talking Moldova, they’re talking, obviously, Ukraine,” the top Trump envoy stated.
“We’re saying: okay, comprehensively we can stop the expansion of NATO coming close to your border,” Kellogg added, noting that such a move would ultimately require a presidential-level decision.
This appears a clear affirmation that Washington is ready to do this as part of ongoing negotiations – but the big question will be whether other powerful members of the alliance are ready to sign off. After all, there is currently a ‘coalition of the willing’ led by the UK, France, and Germany which has somewhat broken with the US on these matters.
This week, the written guarantees and other conditions Moscow has requested have been spelled out in English-language Russian state media as follows:
- Ukraine’s permanent neutrality
- Partial sanctions relief for Russia
- Return of frozen Russian assets
- Protections for Ukraine’s Russian-speaking people
And then an or else was offered as part of an ultimatum. While not officially issued by the Kremlin, this appears some very intentional signaling by Putin officials. It was conveyed via a Wednesday Reuters report:
The first source said that, if Putin realizes he is unable to reach a peace deal on his own terms, he will seek to show the Ukrainians and the Europeans through military strength that “peace tomorrow will be even more painful.”
The next, or second, round of direct Russia-Ukraine talks are set to happen Monday in Istanbul. Both sides are expected to exchange their versions of draft ceasefire plans. However, Kiev has complained it has not received an advanced draft, which puts the whole meeting into question.
Kellogg had some words for the Ukrainian side in the ABC interview, as he said, “I always caution [Kiev’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov]: don’t say things like that.” He pointed out, “Part of life is showing up, and you need to show you’re serious.”
As for Kellogg calling Russia’s demand of no more NATO expansion fair, this is consistent with President Trump’s own stance articulated from the beginning of his presidency:
And of course, history fully supports the notion that the tragic war is rooted in constant NATO expansion right up to Russia’s doorstep, which Putin himself had loudly warned against going back to the mid-2000s.
In September of last year, then NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had a very candid moment wherein he laid out the recent history, admitting at one point that Putin invaded Ukraine to prevent more NATO” expansion.
But that ‘smoking gun’ public admission didn’t gain much traction in American media, where it was downplayed and even ignored. The majority of Americans still likely don’t even know this was openly said by the head of NATO, or that the clip exists.
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