To please Russians? Trump excludes Kellogg from Alaska summit with Putin
US Presidential Envoy Keith Kellogg (photo: Getty Images)
US Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg was not invited to the summit in Alaska. The reason lies in the Russian position — the Kremlin demanded that Washington exclude Kellogg from the meeting, CNN reports.
The outlet notes that Kellogg's absence was due to the position of the Russian side. The Kremlin considers the envoy to be too pro-Ukrainian, and his presence could have been "counterproductive," a White House source said.
Two other sources in the US administration assured that Kellogg's absence should not be considered a serious problem. According to them, the envoy had conveyed all the information provided to him by Ukraine to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Another official added that Rubio is also far from pro-Russian and is not perceived by the Kremlin as someone lenient toward Moscow, especially considering his statements when he was still a congressman, in which Rubio called Putin a war criminal.
However, Kellogg's absence caused serious concern in Europe. One European official said that Kellogg has a deep understanding of what would actually be acceptable to Ukraine in terms of a peace agreement.
"He had hoped to be there, and he should be there," the official added.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration assured that Kellogg will definitely be included in the delegation for any future meeting, including a trilateral meeting between the US, Russia, and Ukraine.
The delegation list released by the White House on the eve of the meeting includes another Trump envoy, Steve Witkoff, who is considered strongly pro-Russian. Witkoff has regularly traveled to the Kremlin and maintains good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump–Putin meeting: What is known
The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska is scheduled to begin at 22:00 Kyiv time on August 15. It is expected to last six or seven hours.
It is known that Trump is to personally greet Putin upon his arrival in Anchorage. The summit itself will be held behind closed doors, followed by official statements and press conferences from both sides.
