WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump

said on Saturday that General Keith Kellogg's role has been

narrowed from special envoy for Ukraine and Russia to only

Ukraine, after Russian officials had sought to exclude him from

talks aiming to end the war.

"General Kellogg, a Highly Respected Military Expert, will

deal directly with President (Volodymyr Zelenskiy), and

Ukrainian leadership," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "He

knows them well, and they have a very good working relationship

together."

Russian officials had communicated to their counterparts in

the United States that they did not want Kellogg involved in

top-level discussions aimed at ending the Ukraine war, sources

told Reuters this week. Some high-ranking former Russian

officials have complained that Kellogg was, in their view, too

sympathetic to Kyiv.

Kellogg, 80, has been personally absent from some high-level

discussions in recent weeks, including a meeting involving U.S.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State

Marco Rubio with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia on

Tuesday.

The U.S. and Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire in

principle during their meeting in Saudi Arabia. But Russian

President Vladimir Putin suggested on Thursday that the

ceasefire bid needs serious reworking.

Kellogg was also absent at a high-level meeting with

Russians in Saudi Arabia in February.