How does Trump envoy Keith Kellogg want to end the Russia-Ukraine war?

United States President-elect Donald Trump has picked a retired general, Keith Kellogg, to beryllium his peculiar envoy for the Russia-Ukraine war.

Trump has made ending the warfare – present connected for astir 3 years – a centrepiece of his overseas argumentation promises. Kellogg’s relation could marque him a captious fig successful Trump’s plans.

But who is Kellogg – and what is known astir the general’s ain views connected the war, and connected however to extremity it?

Who is Keith Kellogg?

Kellogg, 80, is simply a retired lieutenant general. He was the chief of staff for the White House National Security Council during Trump’s archetypal word from 2017 to 2021. He was besides the nationalist information advisor to Mike Pence, who was Trump’s vice president astatine the time.

Kellogg is simply a Vietnam War seasoned and helium was besides sent to Iraq to enactment successful the transitional authorities aft the US-led penetration of the state successful 2003.

“He was with maine close from the beginning!” Trump wrote, announcing Kellogg’s information connected his Truth Social platform.

I americium honored by @realDonaldTrump's assignment to service arsenic Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia. It was the privilege of my beingness moving for President Trump, and I look guardant to moving tirelessly to unafraid bid done spot portion upholding… pic.twitter.com/Nj6TFFEyui

— Keith Kellogg (@generalkellogg) November 27, 2024

The peculiar envoy presumption is caller and points to Trump’s accent connected diplomacy to extremity the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

What is Kellogg’s program to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine?

In April this year, Kellogg co-authored a strategy paper, with erstwhile US authorities authoritative Fred Fleitz, saying that the US should negociate a ceasefire successful Ukraine.

The insubstantial blames President Joe Biden’s medication for the continuing Ukraine war. Specifically, it faults the US determination to limb Ukraine and the nonaccomplishment of diplomacy with Russia. It additionally accuses Biden of promoting a proxy warfare with Russia, done Ukraine.

The program was published by the nonprofit deliberation vessel America First Policy Institute (AFPI), established by erstwhile Trump officials successful 2021. Kellogg’s program calls for an “America First” attack to the war.

Kellogg’s nonfiction argues – echoing Trump successful galore ways – that “a beardown and decisive president who stood up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, “would person prevented Moscow’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022. There is nary grounds to suggest that Putin’s determination to invade Ukraine was based connected his appraisal of Biden arsenic weak, arsenic Kellogg and Fleitz suggest.

Kellogg’s program argues for a ceremonial US argumentation to extremity the war, seeking a “ceasefire and negotiated settlement”.

Under this plan:

• The US would proceed to limb Ukraine to let it to support itself against Russia. However, aboriginal US subject assistance would beryllium contingent connected Ukraine participating successful bid talks with Russia.
• In bid to person Putin to articulation bid talks, NATO leaders should connection to clasp disconnected connected Ukraine’s NATO rank application.
• Additionally, Russia could beryllium offered immoderate sanctions relief, contingent connected it signing a bid statement with Ukraine.
• It besides calls for charging levies connected Russian vigor income to usage for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Could Kellogg’s Ukraine program work?

Kellogg has to woody with the information that determination are 2 parties progressive who clasp antithetic positions connected however the warfare should end, Keir Giles, a elder consulting chap astatine the London-based Chatham House deliberation tank, told Al Jazeera.

“Russia volition negociate until it feels similar it is successful a comfy position,” Giles said. “For Ukraine, a intermission successful warring tin beryllium disastrous,” helium added.

Giles, who is besides the writer of an upcoming book, Who Will Defend Europe? explained that Western backers of Ukraine volition inevitably spot a ceasefire arsenic the situation ending. “Meanwhile, Russia volition beryllium preparing for its adjacent move”.

He added that Kellogg volition besides person to guarantee helium has the practice of different officials successful the upcoming Trump administration. Plans that radical laic retired erstwhile they are not successful authorities bash not needfully construe into plans they enact erstwhile they are successful government, helium said.

Kellogg’s suggestions mostly contradict Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “victory plan” for the war. Ukraine’s admittance into NATO is astatine the bosom of his plan.

The thought of holding disconnected NATO rank for Ukraine is “one of the ways the US tin exert leverage connected Ukraine, but it is simply a misguided attempt,” Giles said, adding that Ukraine’s admittance into NATO is the lone semipermanent solution to the region’s conundrum.

While NATO members person assured Ukraine that it is connected an “irreversible” way to membership, members of the confederation are sceptical of admitting Ukraine portion it is astatine warfare with Russia. This is due to the fact that Ukraine being portion of NATO would instantly mean that the confederation arsenic a full would beryllium astatine warfare with Moscow.

Zelenskyy’s program besides calls for a sustained proviso of economical and subject assistance to Ukraine from its allies. Meanwhile, successful Kellogg’s plan, the proviso of arms to Ukraine is conditional.

Where does Trump basal connected the Ukraine war?

While Trump has pledged to promptly extremity the warfare successful Ukraine, helium has not spelled retired details for the nonstop people of enactment helium would instrumentality to execute this.

“I person a precise exacting program connected however to halt Ukraine and Russia,” helium said successful a podcast interrogation successful September. “I can’t springiness you those plans due to the fact that if I springiness you those plans, I’m not going to beryllium capable to usage them. They’ll beryllium unsuccessful. Part of it’s surprise.”

The Washington Post reported that Trump spoke to Putin successful a telephone telephone connected November 7, asking him not to escalate the warfare and expressing involvement successful having further conversations to resoluteness the conflict. Russia denied that the telephone took place. On November 11, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described reports of the telephone arsenic “pure fiction” and told reporters that Putin had nary factual plans of speaking to Trump.

The Republican president-elect has argued that the Biden medication is backing and arming an open-ended war successful Ukraine that does not payment the US.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Vice President JD Vance fleshed retired immoderate of the details of what Trump’s plan would perchance be, successful an interrogation for the Shawn Ryan Show. The occurrence was released successful September.

Vance said that Trump would statesman negotiations with leaders from Moscow, Kyiv and Europe for a “peaceful settlement”.

“And what it astir apt looks similar is the existent enactment of demarcation betwixt Russia and Ukraine, that becomes similar a demilitarised zone.”

Without specifying the nonstop determination of the demilitarised zone, Vance said that it would beryllium heavy fortified to guarantee Russia does not invade again. However, Vance’s program suggests that Ukraine would person to cede immoderate of its occupied territory to Russia. This includes parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia – areas Russia has taken power of since aboriginal successful the warfare – successful summation to Crimea.

Russia has taken astir 20 percent of Ukrainian territory since 2014.

Ukraine has stressed that immoderate bid woody indispensable impact nullifying Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, including Crimea.

“Ukraine retains its autarkic sovereignty, Russia gets the warrant of neutrality from Ukraine – it doesn’t articulation NATO, it doesn’t articulation immoderate of these allied institutions. That is what the woody is yet going to look thing like,” Vance told the show.