U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg says Russia’s concerns about potential NATO expansion are ‘fair’

The United States considers Russia’s concerns about NATO’s potential eastward expansion to be “fair,” U.S. presidential envoy Keith Kellogg said in an interview with ABC News on Thursday.

“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. According to him, at least four other NATO member states share this position.

As other sources have previously reported, Vladimir Putin is seeking written assurances from Western countries that NATO will not expand eastward as a condition for ending the war in Ukraine.

Kellogg also urged Ukraine not to walk away from negotiations with Russia, even if Moscow fails to present its memorandum outlining terms for a ceasefire and an end to the war ahead of the two countries’ planned June 2 talks in Istanbul.

“I’ve also talked to [Ukraine’s] lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, who will be their lead negotiator in their next talks in Istanbul. He hasn’t seen it as well. I always caution him: don’t say things like that. […] Part of life is showing up. You need to show that you’re serious,” Kellogg said. He noted that neither Ukraine nor the U.S. has yet seen the Russian memorandum.

Kellogg also said that security advisers from Germany, France, and the U.K. will attend the Istanbul talks. This same group, he added, was involved in drafting Ukraine’s 22-point ceasefire proposal during meetings in London and Paris. Kellogg’s remarks did not make clear whether the European officials will take part directly in the negotiations.