Donald Trump plans to appoint retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as U.S. special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, offering to remove weapons from Ukraine and end the war if Ukraine does not participate in peace talks. There is renewed interest in the policy documents he co-authored. And if Russia does not do the same, it will give Ukraine even more weapons.
Trump is said to have responded favorably to the “America First, Russia, Ukraine” plan written by Kellogg and former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz, which was presented to him in April. There is. Both men served as chiefs of staff on the Trump administration’s National Security Council. From 2017 to 2021.
The document proposes halting U.S. arms deliveries to Kiev if Kiev does not agree to peace talks, but at the same time, refusing to negotiate would increase U.S. support for Ukraine. Then the Russian side was warned.
The newspaper cited a “precipitous” U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the supposed hostility of U.S. allies including Israel and Saudi Arabia; have blamed the three-year conflict on the “unserious and incoherent” US foreign policy under President Joe Biden. China was described as “weak and confused”.
The paper went on to accuse the Biden administration of prioritizing “the idealistic policies of the world elite over a cooperative relationship with Russia,” and that its “adversarial policies” “make Russia an enemy of the United States and turn Russia into China’s China.” “I drove it into the hands of someone,” he claims. This led to the development of a new Russia-China-Iran-North Korea axis. ”
Kellogg and Fleitz chided President Putin for preparing to invade Ukraine, criticizing his decision to threaten “unprecedented” sanctions “rather than take advantage of de-escalation negotiations.” There is.
“An America First approach might have prevented the invasion,” they wrote.
President Trump’s Vice President-elect, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, expressed a similar view, saying that U.S. aid to Ukraine was a waste of resources needed to counter America’s major national security threat against China. In fact, it is claimed that there is.
Kellogg’s selection comes as the Biden administration pushes to complete additional arms transfers to Ukraine before the end of his presidential term. The decision to approve the use of the US-made Atakmus missile on targets inside Russia was met by Russia’s use of the powerful medium-range missile Oreshnik in the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk.
Mr. Kellogg said in an interview with Fox News that Mr. Biden’s decision to authorize the attack on Ukraine inside Russia gives Mr. Trump “even more leverage.”
“This gives President Trump even more ability to pivot from there,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Russian government responded to a New York Times report that unnamed Western officials had suggested that Biden might give Ukraine nuclear weapons before he leaves office. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Western discussions about arming Ukraine with nuclear weapons were “totally irresponsible.”
But while the Kellogg Flights plan lacks details, Biden’s former chief military adviser, Mark A., has argued that neither Russia nor Ukraine can win the conflict, so a negotiated solution is the only path to peace. -Seems to reflect General Milley’s advice. .
Under this plan, Russia would also be persuaded to come to the table with promises to delay or abandon Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
“We’re telling the Ukrainians, ‘We have to come to the table. If we don’t come to the table, our support from the United States will dry up,'” Kellogg told Reuters in June. “And you say to President Putin, ‘He has to come to the table, and if you don’t come to the table, we will give the Ukrainians everything they need to kill you on the spot.’ I did.”
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In the interview, Fleitz said Ukraine would not have to formally cede territory to Russia, but would recognize that it would not be able to regain effective control of all the territory.
“Our concern is that this is turning into a war of attrition that is killing an entire generation of young people,” Fleitz said, adding that lasting peace in Ukraine requires “a fully armed Ukraine.” He added that security is necessary.
However, in a policy document, the pair said Ukraine would accept a peace deal that “does not return all its territory or, at least for now, does not hold Russia accountable for the genocide it has inflicted on Ukraine.” admitted that it was difficult.
Asked if he supported Kellogg’s position paper, the president-elect told NBC News: “I’m the only one who can stop the war. It should never have started in the first place.”
President Trump has said European countries should provide more aid, a position echoed by Vance at the Republican National Convention in July. “We will ensure that our allies share the burden of ensuring world peace.” “We cannot afford another free ride to countries that betray the generosity of American taxpayers.”
President Trump has selected 80-year-old retired Army lieutenant general Kellogg as his top adviser on national defense issues. He served as Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser, served as chief of staff on the National Security Council, and became President Trump’s acting national security adviser after Michael Flynn resigned.
During the Vietnam War, he served with the 101st Airborne Division, also known as the Screaming Eagles, and was appointed commander of Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) after the First Iraq War. He retired as a lieutenant general in 2003.
During the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Kellogg requested that the Secret Service not evacuate Pence from the building. That would prevent the vice president from certifying Biden’s election victory. “Please leave him where he is. He has a job to do. I know you all well, and if I had the chance I would take him to Alaska. Please stop.” he reportedly said.
After President Trump nominated Kellogg to be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, he said that Kellogg “has been with me from the beginning.”
