Trump to send son-in-law Jared Kushner to meet Putin | US | News
President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is set to join forces with Steve Witkoff in a high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.
The White House expressed “very optimistic” sentiments about the possibility of reaching an agreement to end nearly four years of devastating war in Ukraine, The Times reported.
Kushner and Witkoff, the White House special envoy, have emerged as the primary U.S. negotiators in talks with Russia, effectively overshadowing Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio, known for his more sympathetic stance toward Ukraine, played a role in redesigning the 28-point peace plan negotiated by Witkoff, Kushner and Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, during secret talks in Miami in late October.
It was reported that on this day Witkoff’s conversation was recorded while he was coaching the Kremlin apparatchiks on how to tactically approach peace talks with the US President. The discussion also included suggestions for a Trump-Putin phone call before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned visit to the White House. Democrat Ted Lieu branded the Russian envoy a “true traitor” and added: “Steve Witkoff needs to work for the USA, not Russia.”
But Rubio will not accompany the Moscow delegation, leaving Witkoff and Kushner, whose extensive business interests often parallel his diplomatic efforts, to present Ukraine’s counteroffer at this critical juncture in the conflict.
White House ‘very optimistic’ after Florida meeting with Ukrainians
On Monday, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the administration’s optimism, saying, “The administration is feeling pretty optimistic” following a discussion between U.S. officials and a Ukrainian delegation in Florida on Sunday.
Leavitt emphasized the president and his team’s commitment to resolving the conflict, adding: “They’re working hard on this effort, and they all really want to see this war end. Just yesterday…they had very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida, and now of course Special Envoy Witkoff is heading to Russia.”
Ahead of his meeting with US officials, Russian media reported that Putin visited a military command center, where senior commanders informed him that on Sunday his forces had captured the city of Pokrovsk, a logistics center of major strategic importance. Despite similar claims made by Moscow in the past, which Ukraine has often denied, a video released on Monday showed a visibly angry Putin dressed in military fatigues and saying that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers had died.
Putin called the situation “a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, connected with the criminal policies of the robber junta.”
Ukraine warns against “loud statements” ahead of Moscow talks
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s counter-disinformation center, warned that Putin’s “loud statements” were published “only for Western audiences and to raise diplomatic interests ahead of discussions in Moscow on a possible peace plan.”
The original 28-point plan negotiated by Witkoff and Kushner last month has faced criticism as being overly favorable to the Kremlin, requiring Ukraine to relinquish territory and limit its armed forces to 600,000 troops, among other concessions.
Kushner’s growing diplomatic role and business ties
Although he no longer holds an official position in the White House, Kushner, 44, Ivanka Trump’s husband, appears to be taking an increasingly active role in US diplomacy. His business connections in the Gulf, including a $2 billion investment by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in the private equity firm shortly after he left the government in 2021, helped pave the way for the Gaza deal.
Kushner also has a history of interactions with Russian officials, including a meeting with Sergei Gorkov, head of the Russian state development bank, in New York after the 2016 election.
As the world watches with bated breath, the outcome of key talks in Moscow could determine the fate of the long-running conflict in Ukraine and the future of the region.
