US special missionary on Ukraine - Mr. Keith Kellogg - said that Russia's long-standing concerns about NATO expansion are reasonable in the context of Moscow requiring the US-led military alliance to make an official written commitment not to continue expanding to eastern Europe as a prerequisite for a ceasefire with Ukraine.
Mr. Kellogg said that the US has repeatedly expressed its agreement with this view of Russia, and affirmed that Ukraine's admission is not an issue to consider at the present time.
Mr. Kellogg even affirmed that the US could completely stop NATO expansion as it approaches the Russian border, but noted that that it would have to wait for President Donald Trump's decision.
The special missionary also said that he had to remind Mr. Rustem Umerov - Head of the negotiation delegation and Minister of Defense of Ukraine - many times that joining NATO should not be mentioned at the potential meeting with Russia on June 2, in Istanbul (Türkiye).
In response to Kiev's hesitant stance on being present at the upcoming negotiations, Mr. Kellogg revealed that he had reminded Mr. Umerov: "Degulation is to be present and you need to show seriousness".
For its part, Russia has expressed its hope to successfully organize a new round of talks with Ukraine on June 2, where the two sides will exchange memorandums of understanding on the next steps in the peace process, including a conditional ceasefire.
Previously, on May 16, although the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine did not bring a breakthrough to the conflict, the two countries still agreed to keep in touch and conduct a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war of 1,000 people, taking place on May 25.
The May 16 talks are seen as a continuation of the Russia-Ukraine round also in Istanbul in 2022, shortly after the conflict broke out.
At the time, Moscow said the negotiations were interrupted by the then-UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who advised Kiev to continue fighting.
Although Mr. Johnson denied the accusation, the head of the Ukrainian negotiation team at that time, Mr. David Arakhamia, admitted that the former British Prime Minister had an influential role in the decision to stop negotiations.
Since then, Russia has repeatedly accused Western governments of using Ukraine as a tool against Russia. However, Moscow has also noted that the US has begun to adjust its stance on solutions to the conflict under President Trump.
