“It’s a fair concern,” Kellogg told ABC News when asked about a Reuters report that Russia seeks a written guarantee barring NATO membership for Ukraine and other former Soviet states.
“Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table. […] It takes 32 of 32 members to agree, and I can name four that would block it.”
Kellogg said Russia is equally worried about Georgia and Moldova joining the U.S.-led pact. Decisions on enlargement, he added, rest with Trump.
Talks set for Istanbul
The retired lieutenant general said negotiators will try next week to merge draft cease-fire proposals from Kyiv and Moscow into a single text during talks in Istanbul on Monday.
National-security advisers from Germany, France and Britain are expected to attend alongside the United States.
“When we get into Istanbul next week we’ll sit down and talk,” he said, noting that Trump is “frustrated” by what he called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unreasonableness” and by continued strikes on Ukrainian cities.
(jh)
Source: Reuters, ABC, PAP