General Keith Kellogg, appointed by POTUS Donald Trump as Special Ukraine and Russia Peace Envoy in late November 2024, has been sidelined from the negotiations.
Multiple media outlets have made this claim frequently in recent days, as Washington, D.C., continues to push for peace in Ukraine.
While POLITICO published an inquisitive article dubbed “Where’s Keith Kellogg?”, NBC News claimed that the retired general was sidelined from the negotiation process as Russia considers him to be too “pro-Ukraine.”
“Kellogg is a former American general, too close to Ukraine. Not our kind of person, not of the caliber we are looking for,” a Kremlin official reportedly told NBC News.
While the same could be said of other key negotiation figures like the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, which POLITICO described as “Russia hawks in their own right and retain the full confidence of the president,” nonetheless, the narrative was reduced to the simple statement that it is Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Middle East Envoy, who has effectively taken over. More so since he traveled on several occasions to Moscow. First, to help release American schoolteacher Mark Fogel and then to present Putin with the US-Ukraine ceasefire proposal, which he effectively turned down.
The grand visionary
While there’s no question of Russia disliking Kellogg, who, according to one of our sources, knows that “Russia is full of shit” and has a stricter approach to Russia (at least ideologically) than Witkoff, there are reasons to believe that this narrative is overly simplified.
One, Kellogg has not been fired. In Trumpworld, this is significant as the American president has no issue with discarding or reducing the role of others in his cabinet whenever he sees fit. He already diminished Elon Musk’s role, not least thanks to his chief of staff Susie Wiles and Musk’s reported fights with Rubio, whose side Trump took, saying that “Marco is doing a great job.”
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that Kellogg remains “a critical part of this team in this effort,” while White House national security spokesperson James Hewitt said that “President Trump has utilized the talents of multiple senior administration officials to assist in bringing the war in Ukraine to a peaceful resolution. Gen. Kellogg remains a valued part of the team, especially as it relates to talks with our European allies.”
Two, he appears to have no hard feelings for Witkoff, saying last week at the Council on Foreign Relations: “Steve’s a great guy, and we’ve got a really good relationship. And my deputy, John Coale, and Morgan Ortagus, we’re working well together. My offices in State are on the seventh floor, his is on the fifth floor.”
More importantly, however, is three: the fact that Kellogg is de facto in charge of today’s negotiations – at least when it comes to their vision, which was first laid out in his 2024 paper “How an America First Foreign Policy Reduced Risks from Russia During the Trump Administration.” Both Politico and the Telegraph noted that it serves as a compass for Trump’s approach to the Russo-Ukraine war, with the latter deep-diving into the matter in its article “The secret to Trump’s Ukraine negotiations is hidden in plain sight” and arguing that “everything from Oval Office spat to cozying up to Moscow is part of plan written by a retired US general last April.”
The publication presents excerpts from Kellog’s plans, which include delaying Ukraine’s NATO membership, a prospect effectively confirmed by NATO chief Mark Rutte in his latest interview with Bloomberg TV; ceding territory to Russia; and providing US military aid contingent on Ukraine’s participation in peace talks.
“Mr Trump’s tactic to bring Ukraine to heel and force the country to negotiate on peace follows a careful plan written and published in black and white last summer by none other than the president’s Kyiv envoy,” the Telegraph wrote (think of the now-infamous Kellogg’s phrase “it’s sort of like hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose”), though adding that not everything plays out precisely according to the plan, which appears to be stricter than Trump’s actions (note: the article was written before Trump’s administration chose not to extend sanctions loophole against 12 Russian banks, including mammoth ones like the Central Bank of Russia and VTB, that enable oil-related transactions).
Don’t care about Shabbat
Like Kellogg, Witkoff is a Trump loyalist – though void of any grand geopolitical visions.
Younger, more vigorous, and saltier, Witkoff is the epitome of the New York business and social scene, of which both Trump and he are part. And he’s eager to deliver, which he proved swiftly as he joined in on the endeavor to complete the critical Hamas hostage deal back in late December 2024. Not only because his administration is made up of Israel hawks but also because there appears to be a connection – a rightful one – in his head between the full-scale Russo-Ukraine war, the 7 October massacre and the war in Gaza and Lebanon that ensued. His message on the subject is clear and repetitive: both should and would never have happened if he were President.
In his role as a peace broker in the flamy region, Witkoff essentially succeeded Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kushner, who, like Witkoff, is Jewish, was one of the key figures who helped broker the 2020 Abraham Accords during Trump’s first tenure, leading to the normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and paving the way for more normalization, including with Saudi Arabia, a once unthought of prospect for the Jewish and Muslim states and likely one of the reasons why Iran’s proxy Hamas decided to make an incursion into Israel.
Witkoff initially attended the talks alongside President Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk. Some Israeli officials initially described him as “some real estate guy that was Trump’s buddy that was wandering around in Mar-a-Lago.” However, their assessments changed quickly, with the officials telling Haaretz: “Witkoff isn’t a diplomat. He doesn’t talk like a diplomat, he has no interest in diplomatic manners and diplomatic protocols”, adding “he’s a businessman who wants to reach a deal quickly and charges ahead unusually aggressively.”
To such an extent, his undiplomatic nature turned out to be that after engaging in shuttle diplomacy between Qatar and Israel, he demanded to meet Netanyahu on Shabbat. When the Israeli officials asked him to wait until the end of the day, he reportedly did not take no for an answer, making it clear in very strong terms that he didn’t care about Shabbat.
“Witkoff is an animal. He’s a tough New York real estate guy. Trump loves the fact he beat up Bibi, so now Witkoff will probably be the lead negotiator,” the Telegraph wrote on the subject, adding that Trump said that he “loved” Mr Witkoff’s no-nonsense approach to Benjamin Netanyahu and making him the perfect “deal-maker,” which is perhaps the only quality for the sitting President who views the government and politics as a real-life episode of The Apprentice where only the fittest make it to the next round.
So, Witkoff or Kellogg?
The answer is Trump.
For all the competition and infighting in the administration, which time and again make it to the press, i is the President calls the shots almost singlehandedly—though he’s not exempt from being influenced by those around him. His rhetoric, which appears contradictory in some parts, to a great extent depends on who has his ear that day and which type of advice he wants to hear. Witkoff most certainly presents him with the more practical aspect of the negotiations, but there’s good reason to believe that Kellogg also has his say, perhaps, by painting the bigger picture of the process and outlining the next steps.
One thing, however, remains unchanged: Trump wants to end the Russo-Ukraine war as fast as possible, without over promising, but still trying to tie himself to the country through the rare minerals deal and thus obstructing Russia’s further advancement, which he, in his own words, “just can’t let happen.”
His desire isn’t an idiosyncratic whim. It is shared by many Americans and American lawmakers who are averse to the idea of funding “forever wars,” especially in the post-Iraq war era. The Russo-Ukraine war appears to be one of them in their heads as they do not believe that Ukraine is able to defeat Russia on the battleground and reject Democrat-like virtue signaling of “standing as long as it takes, without letting Ukraine win.”
Added to that is that the US has long made it clear that it wishes to shift its focus to the Pacific region away from Europe, which, in Washington D.C.’s mind, can perfectly take care of itself on its own. Hence, Trump’s focus on the Panama Canal and Greenland, which he views as strategically essential to counter the Chinese and, in part, Russian threats, coming from different trajectories.
Whoever can best assist him in his endeavor – be it Kellogg, Witkoff, Rubio, or someone else – doesn’t particularly matter, for he is the chief negotiator of them all.
