Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his envoy to Russia, real estate developer Steve Witkoff (Will Oliver/UPI)
Ukraine War, Day 1,376: US-Kyiv Meeting Is “Difficult But Productive”
EA on Dublin NewsTalk: Trump Envoy Witkoff’s Collusion With Kremlin Over Ukraine
UPDATE 1839 GMT:
I spoke with France 24 English on Tuesday afternoon about the forthcoming talks in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
We have two different proposals: the initial Trump-Kremlin proposal and the European counter-proposal.
Which one are Witkoff and Kushner going to focus on with Putin?
UPDATE, DEC 2:
I spoke with Ireland’s RTE Radio 1 on Monday afternoon about the rival Trump-Kremlin and European proposals to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Dublin on Tuesday.
Listen from 6:23:
I begin with the significance of Ireland for Ukraine’s resistance, as Dublin takes over the European Union Presidency in July 2026.
Then I outline the collusion between the Kremlin with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the pushback by Ukraine and Europe, supported by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Which way will Witkoff and Kushner swing when they visit Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Tuesday?
The Trump Administration is dysfunctional. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is functional as he works with officials, trying to maintain Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
But the Witkoff-Kushner faction, supported by J.D. Vance, is pursuing profits and compensation for security guarantees.
This personal economic dimension of Donald Trump and his Government is unsettling, even disrupting, the notion of alliance.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, DEC 1: I joined Poland’s TVP World on Sunday night to evaluate the talks between US and Ukrainian delegations in Florida, pushing back against the collusion between Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the Kremlin.
In the 15-minute discussion, I analyze the remarks of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian officials on a “difficult but productive” day.
But with Witkoff visiting the Kremlin on Monday, I highlight the challenge of pushing back the ultimatum which he and Kushner developed with Vladimir Putin’s top advisor Kirill Dmitriev — not only because of Witkoff’s affinity for Putin but also because of members of the Trump camp pursuing profits.
The Trump Administration has leverage if they want to use it. We saw that with sanctions on Russia’s leading oil companies, and the Administration could give Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine for strikes inside Russia.
But Witkoff and Kushner have no interest in leverage on Russia. Instead, they are talking about striking lucrative economic deals.
Given that Putin is unlikely to accept a ceasefire without the seizure of more Ukrainian territory and a permanently weakened Kyiv, what can be done to maintain support for Ukraine?
