Russian officials have told their counterparts in the United States that they do not want Russia-Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg involved in top-level discussions aimed at ending the Ukraine war.
It was gathered that Kellogg has been personally absent from some high-level discussions in recent weeks, including a meeting involving US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
He was also reportedly absent from a high-level meeting with Russians in Saudi Arabia in February.
It was not immediately clear if Kellogg’s absence was linked to the Russian officials’ request.
According to the US official, the request had not been heeded, citing the fact that Kellogg sent a high-ranking member of his staff, Eli Rosner, to attend the latest Saudi meeting.
Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Washington has not made any comment on the development.
National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt said Kellogg was playing a crucial role in bringing the Ukraine war to an end.
President Trump has utilized the talents of multiple senior administration officials to assist in bringing the war in Ukraine to a peaceful resolution,” Hewitt said on Thursday evening.
News360 Info reports that Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the sharpest confrontation for decades between Moscow and the West.
Recall that the US and Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire in principle during their meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier in the week.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Thursday that the ceasefire bid needs serious reworking.
