President Trump’s envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, who has been a key figure attempting to sell the “Coalition of the Willing” line to Trump, raised eyebrows last night when he provided a straightforward and accurate answer regarding Russia’s concern over the expansion of NATO. He had been asked about a Reuters report that Moscow wanted a written pledge that NATO would stop its eastward expansion.
Kellogg said that it “is a fair concern” and that, for the U.S., “Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table, and we’re not the only country that says that—you know, I could probably give you four other countries in NATO, and it takes 32 of the 32, to allow you to come into NATO. That’s one of the issues that Russia will bring up.... They’re not just talking Ukraine, they’re talking the country of Georgia, they’re talking Moldova.”
