Politics
Trump’s Envoys Spark Fury As They Advocate For Putin While In Ukraine
Donald Trump’s peace envoys have raised eyebrows after saying the end of the Ukraine war should be a “win-win” deal with Russia.
After his eighth visit to see Russian President Vladimir Putin, Steve Witkoff went on his first trip to Kyiv over the weekend together with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The two are currently trying to fulfill the US president’s demand to end the Ukraine war.
Trump vowed to end the war within 24 hours of his second term. More than 18 months later, the war continues to rage.
Witkoff and Kushner then appeared to advocate for Putin while in the Ukrainian capital, completely glossing over the fact that the war began in 2022 with Russia’s invasion of its European neighbour.
During a press conference, Kushner said: “From President Putin’s perspective, I think he has certain objectives that he expresses he wants to achieve but obviously there are different aspirations that he has for his country that can also be achieve once this is concluded.
“We will continue to have a positive dialogue in order to find a pathway to get there.”
He added that Trump comes from the “business world”, where “you think about things in the context of win-win”.
“How do you create opportunities for both sides. War is a negative sum,” he claimed. “Everyone loses from war, whereas business and peace is a positive sum, so hopefully we can find big benefits from that in a big way.”
The remarks came after Witkoff told Putin over the weekend in the Kremlin that they had made some “incredible memories” together.
Eagle-eyed social media users claimed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy looked incredibly uncomfortable while Kushner was explaining how he saw the bloody four-year conflict.
Others were just stunned by the envoys’ bizarre approach to a conflict which has outlasted World War 1.
Kushner and Witkoff were also put on the spot by Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon who asked if Putin was “deceiving” the US.
“You have met with President Putin very often,” the reporter said said. “Does it seem to you that Putin has been deceiving you all this time?
“And don’t you find it disgusting to sit at the same table with an international war criminal, the executioner of the Ukrainian people, who is personally responsible for the tragedy in Ukraine?”
Witkoff insisted that “you have little chance of getting to a peaceful resolution” unless you have a relationship with both sides.
He said his job is to “create good communication channels” between Russia and Ukraine, and they are “confident” there will be a good resolution here.
There was no major breakthrough following the envoys’ trips to both Moscow and Kyiv, even though they held extensive talks behind closed doors with both Putin and Zelenskyy.
After speaking to Witkoff and Kushner, the Ukrainian president said he expects the war to continue into the winter.
However, Witkoff tried to establish a more positive tone.
He said he was “encouraged” by what he described as “substantive” talks in Ukraine, while Zelenskyy said he wants a just peace with no opportunity for Russia to revive its aggression.
The Ukrainian leader also told reporters he wanted officials from Ukraine, Europe and America to meet soon for more discussions on peace.
Witkoff also claimed they “made a lot of progress in Moscow”.
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login