Russia has ‘fair concern’ about NATO expansion – Trump envoy
Russia’s long-standing security concerns regarding NATO expansion are reasonable, US presidential envoy Keith Kellogg said Thursday in an interview with ABC News
He was responding to a question about reports that Moscow wants NATO leaders to issue a written commitment halting further enlargement – particularly the inclusion of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia into the US-led military bloc.
“It’s a fair concern and we’ve said that repeatedly … that to us Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table,” he said.
“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.
Towards the end of the Cold War, senior US officials gave assurances to the Soviet Union that NATO would not expand eastward, in exchange for support for German reunification. Since the 1990s, Moscow has cited the alliance’s expansion to Russia’s borders as evidence of Western duplicity.
NATO’s insistence on admitting Ukraine to the bloc is a key factor which led to the current conflict with Russia. In 2021, Moscow offered a diplomatic proposal to ease tensions, but the US and other bloc members insisted its open-door policy was non-negotiable, describing Ukraine’s path to membership as “irreversible.”
Moscow hopes to hold a new round of negotiations with Kiev on Monday in Istanbul, where both parties would exchange draft memorandums on the next steps in the peace process, including a conditional cease-fire. Ukrainian officials have expressed frustration at not receiving the Russian draft in advance and said they might boycott the meeting.
“I always caution [Kiev’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov]: don’t say things like that,” Kellogg said. “Part of life is showing up, and you need to show you’re serious.”
Russia and Ukraine reached a preliminary peace agreement in Istanbul in 2022, but Kiev later withdrew from talks, aiming for a military breakthrough with support from Western nations. Moscow sees the renewed talks launched earlier this month as a chance to revisit the proposal, which involves Ukraine adopting a stance of neutrality and limiting its military.
The interviewer pressed Kellogg on whether those terms were “pretty extreme,” suggesting they were proof that Russia does not seek peace. Kellogg responded that ending the conflict was in Moscow’s interest.
