"Too pro-Ukrainian": Kellogg removed from peace talks at Russian request - NBC
US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has been excluded from high-level talks after the Kremlin said it did not want him to participate.
This was reported by NBC News, citing sources in the US and Russian administrations, Censor.NET informs.
The outlet notes that Kellogg was absent from meetings in Saudi Arabia in February and March, when the US spoke with representatives of Russia and Ukraine, respectively, although such talks are within his remit.
"Kellogg is a former American general, too close to Ukraine. Not our kind of person, not of the caliber we are looking for," an unnamed Russian official told the newspaper, adding that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin considered him "too pro-Ukrainian".
In turn, a US representative in the Trump administration confirmed to the publication that it was Russia that did not want Special Envoy Kellogg to be involved in the negotiations. At the same time, the official does not know when the White House was informed of this.
Kellogg's office did not respond to NBC News' request for comment on why he did not participate in the talks or whether the Russian side asked for it.
However, US National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt told NBC News that Kellogg remains "a valued part of the team, especially as it relates to talks with our European allies."
Earlier, the media reported that Donald Trump's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, was effectively removed from the negotiation process to resolve the war in Ukraine.
