Trump called Russia's concerns about NATO expansion "fair"
The US President's special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, said that Russia has "fair concern" about NATO's eastward expansion. The official said this in an interview with ABC News.
The journalist noted that there are reports that dictator Vladimir Putin has put forward conditions for ending the war, including that he is demanding a written promise from Western leaders not to expand NATO eastward. She asked if US President Donald Trump is ready to make such a commitment?
"Well, I think that's a fair concern. And we've said that repeatedly. Just as we've said that Ukraine's accession to NATO is not on our agenda. And we're not the only country that says that," Kellogg said.
According to him, there are four NATO member states that are against Ukraine's accession, and he recalled that the consent of all 32 members is required for a state to be included in the alliance.
The special envoy noted that NATO expansion is one of the issues that Moscow will raise in the negotiations, and it concerns not only Ukraine – the Russian Federation is also talking about Georgia and Moldova.
"And we say [to the Russians], 'Okay, overall, you know, we can stop NATO expansion coming to your borders.' And those are security concerns for them," Kellogg explained.
At the same time, he emphasized that US President Donald Trump himself will make such a decision.
"This is not my decision. And these are the things that we [Trump's team] go to the president about and say, 'You know, Mr. President, this is what we talked about. This is what everyone is ready to do. Are you ready to accept this? Are you ready to go for this?' And then, hopefully, there will be negotiations, discussions between President Trump, President Putin, and President Zelensky that will lead to the final outcome [ending the war] and stop the killing," the special envoy said.
- The American administration has previously stated that Ukraine will not join NATO in the near future. Russia constantly speculates on the topic of expanding the Alliance, and on the eve of a full-scale invasion even demanded the withdrawal of NATO infrastructure from Eastern Europe.
- During the same interview, Kellogg reported that during the next Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul, representatives of the United States, as well as national security advisors from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, would be present.