On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that retired General Keith Kellogg would be his choice to be the Special Envoy for Russia and Ukraine and the President’s Assistant.
“During my first administration, Keith held extremely sensitive National Security positions as part of his illustrious military and business career. He had been with me from day one! In a statement announcing his decision, Trump declared, “We will work together to secure peace through strength and make America and the world safe once more.”
Kellogg was the National Security Council’s executive secretary and chief of staff during Trump’s first term in office. He spent more than 35 years in the military before.
In an April policy paper that NBC News was able to get, Kellogg described his plans to try to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, including the possibility of tying U.S. military assistance to Kyiv to its involvement in peace negotiations with Russia.
Kellogg and co-author Fred Fleitz said in the article that a ceasefire was suggested: “In particular, it would mean a formal U.S. policy to seek a cease-fire and negotiated settlement of the Ukraine conflict.” Following a cease-fire or peace deal, the United States would keep arming Ukraine and bolstering its defenses to guarantee that Russia would not move further or launch another war. However, Ukraine must engage in peace negotiations with Russia in order to get future U.S. military assistance.
The two writers of the report appeared to agree that as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin was in power, there was little chance that the war would stop.
“Ukraine would not be asked to relinquish the goal of regaining all its territory, but it would agree to use diplomacy, not force, with the understanding that this would require a future diplomatic breakthrough which probably will not occur before Putin leaves office,” wrote Kellogg and Fleitz.
Additionally, the two clarified that Ukraine would find it difficult to accept a peace deal “that does not give them back all of their territory or, at least for now, hold Russia responsible for the carnage it inflicted on Ukraine.”
When asked if the president-elect supports Kellogg’s policy paper, the Trump transition team did not immediately reply.
Trump made numerous promises to end the conflict throughout the campaign, but he hasn’t provided many details about how he would go about doing it.Trump told reporters at a September meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled and get it worked out.”
“It must end,” he added. It must stop at some point. He has experienced hell. His nation has endured terrible hardships.
Trump voiced his displeasure with U.S. funding to Ukraine at a previous campaign event in Georgia, claiming, “Zelenskyy always leaves with $100 billion. He is, in my opinion, the world’s best salesman. But unless I become president, we will remain in that battle. I’ll finish it. I will negotiate it.
The relationship between Zelenskyy and Trump is complex.Trump’s first impeachment resulted from a phone conversation between the two leaders in July 2019.Trump was charged with trying to coerce Zelenskyy into looking into Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden by refusing aid to Ukraine. In the Republican-controlled Senate, he was later found not guilty after denying any misconduct.
Both JD Vance, the incoming vice president, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, have expressed opposition to aid to Ukraine.
I am aware of Donald Trump’s thoughts throughout the meeting. His thoughts were, “I want to shake all the money out of this guy’s pockets, turn him over, and hold him by his legs, and hope it adds up to $208 billion.” At a Trump event in September, Kennedy stated, “That’s what the Democrats gave him, and we need to bring that money home.”
Vance also stated that he was in favor of holding peace negotiations in an interview with NBC News Meet the Press. I believe it’s crucial that we have some kind of dialogue between Ukraine, Russia, and our NATO friends in Europe if we’re ever going to put a stop to the conflict in that country,” he said.
In an opinion piece earlier this year, Vancehad lambasted U.S. aid to Ukraine for a long time, saying, “There is simply no good reason that aid from the U.S. should be needed.” Europe is home to many wonderful countries with thriving economies.
Just before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he said on a podcast, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”
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