US envoy calls Russia’s NATO expansion concern ‘fair’

ISTANBUL

The US envoy for Ukraine said Friday that Russia’s concerns over NATO’s eastward expansion are “fair” and said the US does not support putting Ukraine’s NATO membership “on the table.”

“It takes 32 of the 32 (members) to allow you to come into NATO, and we've seen other countries say ‘We're not too sure about that,’” Keith Kellogg told ABC News Thursday.

Referring to Russia’s reluctance to engage in ceasefire talks and US President Donald Trump’s remark that Putin is “playing with fire,” Kellogg warned against underestimating Trump.

He added that Trump was “frustrated” with Russia, saying Washington had made reasonable proposals but faced “a level of unreasonableness” from Moscow.

Kellogg also addressed the status of Russian-occupied territories, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea, saying they will be part of the second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, expected to begin Monday in Istanbul.

National security advisors from Germany, France and the United Kingdom – known as the E3 – will also participate in the Istanbul talks, he added.