Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg has been excluded from high-level talks on ending the war in Ukraine on Thursday after the Kremlin deemed him "too close to Ukraine," NBC News first reported.
"Kellogg is a former American general, too close to Ukraine. Not our kind of person, not of the caliber we are looking for," said an official familiar with the matter and not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Kellogg, who is President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has been a loyal supporter of the president going back to his first administration when he was the national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence.
Just prior to the Kellogg revelation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had agreed in principle the terms set forth in the U.S.-negotiated ceasefire agreement with Ukraine while acknowledging the details are what matters.
"The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it," Putin said during in Moscow during a news conference. "But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to talk about it with our American colleagues and partners and, perhaps, have a call with President Trump and discuss it with him."
On Wednesday, it was reported that Russia had given the U.S. their list of demands to end its conflict with Ukraine which included keeping Ukraine out of NATO and that the international community recognize that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia.
In February, Trump had presented a list of negotiators who would attend the proposed discussions with Russia. Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and national security adviser Michael Waltz were on the team led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Kellogg was not on Trump's original list.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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