An ex-general as Trump’s peace envoy to Ukraine? Keith Kellogg is facing what is probably the biggest diplomatic challenge of his career: ending an escalating war in Europe – under Trump’s controversial maxim.
Bastian Brauns reports from New York
Almost a century ago, former US Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg received the Nobel Peace Prize for his Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928. It was an ambitious, ultimately unsuccessful attempt to outlaw war. About a decade later, Germany invaded its neighbor Poland in 1939, plunging the world into World War II.
Although critics later dismissed Kellogg’s plan as a utopian undertaking, the pact signaled a serious desire for global stability after the terrible devastation of the First World War.
Around a hundred years later, another Kellogg from America is said to be trying to bring peace to the world. This time his name is Keith Kellogg. The retired US general has no family connections to Frank B. Kellogg, the former statesman. But after Donald Trump appointed him “special envoy to Ukraine and Russia” this Wednesday, he is, in a sense, facing a much more daunting challenge:
Keith Kellogg is tasked with settling a war that has long threatened to escalate into a global catastrophe.
The ex-US general has a reputation as a tough, sober military strategist. And so Kellogg seems to fit perfectly with Trump’s foreign and security policy plans. Because his nomination follows Trump’s pattern of assembling a foreign policy team that shares his worldview. In addition to Kellogg, his new national security adviser Mike Waltz and his future secretary of state Marco Rubio are also expected to play key roles in implementing Trump’s vision for America’s role on the world stage. Read more about Mike Waltz here.
At the heart of this strategy is Trump’s mantra “Peace through Strength.” The fact that Trump is sending Kellogg, a decorated veteran with decades of military experience, on a diplomatic mission can be seen as a symbolic expression of this maxim. Kellogg has long been considered a reliable ally of Trump. Because he already served as national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, he already had an important advisory role in Trump’s first cabinet.
Kellogg is very familiar with security policy and military logistics. What makes him particularly suitable for his new role as Ukraine/Russia envoy remains, above all, his agreement with Trump’s foreign policy doctrine, which aims to give priority to American interests in every respect while at the same time challenging conventional diplomatic norms.
In essays, interviews and other public statements, Kellogg has early criticized the outgoing Biden administration for its perceived hesitancy in providing robust military support to Ukraine. As recently as July of this year, he said in an interview with Voice of America: “The Biden administration’s indecision has emboldened adversaries like Russia. Leadership means taking decisive action, and inaction is also a decision – often the wrong one.”
And further: “Did the United States give Ukraine F-16 support? No. Did we provide the Ukrainians with long-range weapons early on so they could fire on the Russians? No. Did we give them permission to go deep Russia? No. Did the United States provide them with the tank capacity they needed? Thirty-one tanks are not even a battalion in the US Army took place.”
Kellogg’s vision for Ukraine and Russia
The ex-general not only relies on military pragmatism in the Ukraine war, but also emphasizes targeted negotiations. In his essay for The National Interest in late 2023, he outlined what a Trump-led Ukraine strategy might look like. In it he calls for immediate ceasefire negotiations, coupled with a clear commitment to Russia’s geopolitical ambitions. “The war must end with dignity for both sides,” Kellogg wrote, emphasizing the need for a solution that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty while addressing Russia’s security concerns.
Kellogg also called for a reassessment of NATO’s role in Eastern Europe. Although he supports the alliance, he warns against its overextension, especially against rapid expansion to the east. This view is consistent with Trump’s longstanding skepticism of NATO, an institution he has often criticized for placing disproportionate burdens on the United States. At the same time, Trump’s interpretation also seems like an echo of the Russian view that NATO is to some extent to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which violates international law.
