CNN: The US Special Representative Kellogg will not attend Alaska meeting due to Russiaʼs position

The US Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg will not be at the meeting in Alaska due to Russiaʼs position. Russia perceives Kellogg as someone who sympathizes with Ukraine, so his presence could allegedly be "counterproductive".

CNN reports this, citing senior administration officials.

Kellogg shared all the information he gathered during his conversations with the Ukrainians with Trump and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The administration does not consider his absence a serious problem.

One of the officials also said that Rubio is not seen as soft on Russia because he has previously called Putin a war criminal.

At the same time, Europeans are concerned that Kellogg was not included in the delegation.

“He was hoping to be there, and he should have been there,” said one European official, adding that the loss of his deep knowledge was a disadvantage. Kellogg has the best understanding of what Ukraine could agree to in a deal, the official said.

Kellogg is expected to be included in the delegation that will travel to "any future meeting between the US, Russia and Ukraine," CNN sources tell CNN.

• Keith Kellogg was absent from the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on February 18, as well as from the US-Ukraine talks on March 11. At the time, NBC News, citing sources, also wrote that Kellogg was excluded from high-level talks to end the war because the Kremlin did not want him to be part of the process, as Putin considers him too pro-Ukrainian.
• Donald Trump will meet with Putin on August 15 in Alaska. The US president has previously said there is a “good chance” he will meet with Putin and Zelensky — saying the meeting could happen soon after his summit with the Kremlin leader. However, if he doesn’t get the answers he needs on August 15, the trilateral meeting will not take place.
• CBS reported, citing sources, that US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin could meet at the end of next week. The US is already working on a place for the leaders to meet. The Kremlin leader himself, commenting on the possibility of meeting with Zelensky, said that there are currently no suitable conditions for this.

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