Kremlin grins as Trump’s envoy signals no eastward NATO expansion

Moscow is happy that the U.S. understands why it hates NATO expanding east, the Kremlin said Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has “consistently communicated Russia’s stance on the unacceptability of NATO’s eastward expansion,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, adding that Washington seems to have taken this position into account. 

Peskov’s statement follows remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, who said that Putin was right to be concerned about NATO expansion. 

“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 told ABC News on Thursday.

Putin reportedly demands that a peace deal with Ukraine include a written pledge to halt NATO’s expansion, according to Reuters. Peskov, talking to journalists, agreed that Kellogg’s remark can be considered an outcome of backdoor Russia-U.S. talks.

This would impact not only Ukraine, which has repeatedly affirmed its aspiration to join the transatlantic military alliance, but also countries such as Georgia and Moldova, Kellogg acknowledged.

“And that’s one of the issues Russia will bring up ... They’re also talking about Georgia, they’re talking about Moldova, they’re talking — obviously — about Ukraine. And we’re saying, ‘OK, let’s address this comprehensively,’” Kellogg said.

Following Kellogg’s remarks, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský wrote on X: “NATO expansion is in the interest of Russian security. There is no war where Russia borders NATO countries. There is war elsewhere.”

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted both Sweden and Finland to seek — and ultimately obtain — membership in NATO.

Czech President Petr Pavel told POLITICO last week, “frankly it's not realistic, in a short timeframe” for Ukraine to be invited to join NATO in the face of the Trump administration’s opposition. Still, he stressed that allies should “not abandon this idea,” as Kyiv joining NATO would strengthen it.

The Ukrainian government did not respond to Kellogg’s statement as of Friday afternoon.