"General Kellogg, a highly respected military expert, will deal directly with President Zelensky and the Ukrainian leadership. He knows them well and they have a very good cooperation together", writes Trump on his platform Truth Social.
Kellogg has previously been described as the US special envoy for both Ukraine and Russia. But his role in the talks about the Russian war of aggression has been unclear, since he was sidelined from the high-level American meetings with Russia.
On Thursday evening, it was instead the US envoy to the Middle East, real estate billionaire Steve Witkoff, who met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin is said to have thought that Kellogg was too friendly towards Ukraine, reported NBC on Friday, citing a high-ranking Russian official.
A former general, too close to Ukraine. Not our type of person, not of the caliber we are looking for, said the Russian source.