Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s handpicked Ukraine-Russia envoy, was notably absent during Tuesday’s Saudi talks between Ukrainian and US officials – a meeting that resulted in a historic ceasefire proposal.
Which begs the question – is Kellogg being sidelined?
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While Kellogg’s lack of direct involvement seems to suggest as much, others argued that he is still working closely with Trump and other officials behind the scenes in hammering out a peace deal for Ukraine.
Some say Kellogg is being sidelined
“Kellogg’s role is very much in question,” an unnamed Trump administration official told Politico’s NatSec Daily.
“It’s not clear why the president won’t make a final call on this. There are already too many principals, plus [Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff, trying to play the hero on ending the war. Kellogg is limping along, adding to the confusion about who does what,” the person added, referring to Witkoff’s involvement in Washington’s talks with Russia, who might also have contributed to the release of Russian-held US national Marc Fogel.
Judging by publicly available information, it does appear that Kellogg was barely involved in the recent high-stakes talks – which might have something to do with his pro-Ukrainian stance and statements that might displease Moscow and sometimes contradict Trump’s official lines on Ukraine.
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In an interview with NEWSMAX before the Munich Security Conference, Kellogg said that Washington’s $174 billion aid to Ukraine is accounted for via US audits – a statement that not only contradicts Trump supporters’ claim that Kyiv has been misusing US aid, but also Trump’s exaggerated $350 billion figure, which the latter has continued using despite its having been debunked.
Granted, Kellogg is to date the only high-ranking US official from the Trump administration to have visited Ukraine since Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025. He called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an “embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war” after the meeting – at a time when Trump and Zelensky had a public spat, with Trump calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections.”
Kellogg did end up blaming Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation for the infamous Feb. 28 White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky in a recent talk at the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), likening the US’s suspension of military aid to Ukraine – which has since been restored on Tuesday – as “hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose.”
Some say Kellogg remains a key figure
Yet other officials told NatSec Daily that Kellogg was not being sidelined.
“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,” White House national security spokesperson James Hewitt said.
Meanwhile, a person close to Kellogg told NatSec Daily that he frequently speaks directly to Trump “and that’s who he works for and he doesn’t work for anybody else.”
Regarding Witkoff’s increasing involvement in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks, Kellogg maintained that he has a great working relationship with Witkoff and that the two pursue different avenues while aiming for the same goal.
“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,” Kellogg also said at the CFR last week.
“It made a lot of sense strategically to say, ‘Okay, Steve, you run this lane really hard, and I’ll run this lane really hard.’ We’re closely aligned, talking about it, comparing notes, and providing that information,” Kellogg added.
So far, it remains to be seen whether Kellogg’s lane leads to an off-ramp.
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