The Kremlin is openly expressing satisfaction: on Friday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Washington appears to be taking Russia’s objections to NATO’s eastward expansion into account. His comments came in response to a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, retired General Keith Kellogg, who told ABC News that Moscow’s concerns about NATO are justified.
“It’s a fair concern. We’ve said that repeatedly. We’ve said that, to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table,” Kellogg said in an interview.
According to Politico, this position from Trump’s circle effectively signals a return to Russia’s long-standing “red lines,” voiced well before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, President Vladimir Putin has insisted that one of the key conditions for ending the conflict must be a legally binding commitment to halt NATO’s eastward expansion. As Reuters reported, Putin has reiterated this demand in recent behind-the-scenes talks, insisting it be included in any future peace agreement.
Peskov, speaking to reporters, directly linked Kellogg’s remarks to unofficial U.S.–Russia negotiations, noting that they could be seen as the outcome of “backchannel contacts.”
Kellogg emphasized that such a pledge would affect not only Ukraine but other post-Soviet states that Moscow considers part of its traditional buffer zone. He explained:
“And that’s one of the issues Russia will bring up… They’re also talking about Georgia, they’re talking about Moldova, they’re talking — obviously — about Ukraine. And we’re saying, ‘OK, let’s address this comprehensively.’”
Kellogg’s comments sparked swift reaction. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský wrote on X:
“NATO expansion is in the interest of Russian security. There is no war where Russia borders NATO countries. There is war elsewhere.”
It is worth noting that in direct response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, formerly neutral Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership — and were quickly accepted. This move strengthened NATO’s presence in the region and ran counter to the Kremlin’s stated goals.
Still, NATO itself remains divided on the issue of Ukraine. Czech President Petr Pavel, a former senior NATO military official, told Politico:
“Frankly, it’s not realistic, in a short timeframe,” for Ukraine to be invited into NATO, particularly given the Trump administration’s stance. “But allies should not abandon this idea,” he added, arguing that Kyiv’s accession would ultimately strengthen the alliance.
As of Friday afternoon, the Ukrainian government had not issued a response to Kellogg’s remarks — despite growing speculation surrounding the prospect of peace talks.
However, the fact that a Trump representative publicly questions one of the post-Cold War order’s foundational principles — the right of sovereign nations to determine their alliances — signals a potential shift in U.S. foreign policy should Trump return to the White House.
As Politico stresses, such rhetoric plays directly into the Kremlin’s hands, bolstering its position in future negotiations and sending a clear signal: a security compromise may be possible — but on Moscow’s terms.
This article was prepared based on materials published by Politico. The author does not claim authorship of the original text but presents their interpretation of the content for informational purposes.
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