Trump has brought in unconventional negotiators for peace talks in Moscow: what are the risks?

Donald Trump’s administration is making a new attempt to advance the negotiation process between Ukraine and Russia — and is again relying not on classic diplomats, but on its own circle of trusted individuals.

This is stated in the CNN article.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s longtime business partner, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to travel to Moscow in the coming days. Neither has official status in the U.S. government, but the president sees them as key figures in trying to persuade the Kremlin to end the war. Kushner and Witkoff are planning to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss the White House’s proposed terms for a potential deal.

Spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt stressed: “We expect this war to finally end.”

This decision has sparked heated debate in Washington. The reason is simple: it was Witkoff and Kushner who helped broker a truce between Israel and Hamas last year, and Trump sees this experience as a reason to involve them in the Ukraine-Russia issue. The president openly calls Witkoff “an outstanding negotiator,” even though he was originally supposed to focus more on the Middle East.

In Europe, such a decision was received with caution. Especially after Bloomberg published a recording of a conversation between Witkoff and Putin’s advisor Yuri Ushakov, where the businessman actually suggested how the Russian leader should better communicate with Trump. European diplomats called the incident “strange, but not unexpected.”

Trump himself has reacted harshly to the criticism. He has stated bluntly that the role of his special envoy is to “sell” the idea of a deal to both Kyiv and Moscow.

Jared Kushner, who has no formal position, has once again become the de facto conduit between the White House and a number of world leaders. For many, his appearance signals that Kushner’s position is an extension of the president’s own will.

After the settlement of the situation in Gaza, he quietly joined the Ukrainian direction, becoming one of the creators of the draft peace package. At the same time, EU officials note that the negotiator “masters the topic while working”, which is atypical for such processes. The situation was complicated by the episode when Kushner and Witkoff met with Russian businessman Kirill Dmitriev, who is under sanctions.

Some European officials find it unclear what Kushner’s real powers are.

“Usually, a member of the negotiating team already has deep knowledge, rather than acquiring it on the go,” said one diplomat.

After contacts with Dmitriev, a draft document with 28 points emerged, which was criticized in Europe and the United States as too favorable to the Kremlin. The White House claims that the project was significantly revised after the talks in Geneva.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the latest consultations in Florida have shown “tangible progress,” and the main stage of the work should take place this week in Moscow, where Witkoff is going.

Washington is convinced that Kyiv is ready to engage with Kushner, and his participation is seen as a signal of Trump’s personal interest in concluding a deal. According to people familiar with the negotiations, there is progress, but the agreement is far from final.

Former diplomats warn that relying on a narrow circle of trusted advisors can lead to mistakes.

“When the team is too small, it’s easy to find yourself in a corridor of decisions with no alternatives,” noted one former State Department official.

Despite this, Trump appears confident in his approach. His closest advisers — Witkoff, Kushner, and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll — are preparing for a new round of negotiations that could be decisive in the war.

We will remind you that the negotiations between the Ukrainian and American delegations in Florida did not provide an answer to the main question – what security guarantees Ukraine will receive.

By the way, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the territorial issue is the most difficult part of the negotiations on the peace plan.

As reported, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the process of finding a formula to end the Russian-Ukrainian war has progressed significantly.

In addition, the European Union outlined its position on future US-Russia talks to end the war in Ukraine. Any agreements, according to the European side, should not allow Russia to avoid responsibility for war crimes.

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