Steve Witkoff & Jared Kushner: Trump’s unconventional negotiators pushing for peace in Ukraine

What do you do when you want to get two warring nations to agree to peace? You undoubtedly dispatch your best negotiators to secure the countries’ agreement to your terms. And it seems that the United States President Donald Trump has done just that to get Russia and Ukraine to agree to a peace plan.

However, there’s a hitch in Trump’s plans; his two best negotiators — his former business associate, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner — aren’t lawmakers or been confirmed by the Senate.

But experts note that in the US president’s second term, Trump has turned to a tight circle of business associates and trusted allies to help him solve global conflicts. In fact, Witkoff and Kushner will be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin today (December 2) to press him to stop the fighting against Ukraine.

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Who are Witkoff and Kushner?

Before we get to how Witkoff and Kushner became Trump’s go-to choices for his diplomatic outreach, here’s who these two individuals are and their connection to the US president.

Witkoff is far from a typical diplomat; the 68-year-old, born in New York state, began his career as a lawyer before becoming a real estate developer and investor. Like his friend, Trump, Witkoff created the Witkoff Group in the 1990s, and today, this firm owns a number of properties in the Big Apple, including the Park Lane Hotel and The Woolworth Building.

Witkoff and Trump have been friends for decades. The developer has recounted meeting Trump for the first time in 1986. Then, a junior lawyer, Witkoff, was working on a transaction involving the Trump family. The negotiations dragged on all night. During a break, almost at dawn, Witkoff went down to a deli to grab a bite. There he ran into Trump, who had ordered a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich but didn’t have the money to buy it because he had forgotten his wallet. Witkoff offered to pay for him.

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Today, the two love playing golf, with US senator Lindsey Graham describing them as “golf buddies”. In fact, Witkoff was with the US president at the golf course in Florida last September when a second assassination attempt was made on Trump’s life.

Such is their friendship that Trump announced Witkoff as his Middle East envoy shortly after winning the presidential election in November.

And what about Jared Kushner?

The 44-year-old is Trump’s son-in-law; he’s married to Ivanka Trump. Interestingly, Kushner is no stranger to the wheeling and dealing of the White House. That’s because he served as an adviser to the US president in his first term.

But when Trump lost the presidential race in 2020, Kushner pivoted back to the world of business — forming investment firm Affinity Partners, which has ties to government wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as per a New York Times report.

What is their role in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations?

Witkoff and Kushner will be in Moscow today (December 2), where they will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and try to hammer out the details of the Ukraine peace proposal.

This meeting comes after US and Ukrainian officials held talks in Florida over the weekend, following which Trump told reporters, “I think that there’s a good chance we can make a deal.”

Even Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, expressed a similar sentiment, telling reporters on Monday, “I think the administration feels very optimistic.” The president and his team “have been working so hard on this effort and they all really want to see this war come to an end”, she added. “Just yesterday … they had very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida and now of course Special Envoy Witkoff is on his way to Russia.”

Notably, both of Trump’s men — Witkoff and Kushner — have long been involved in talks with Russia to get the Ukraine war to end — a campaign promise by Trump.

Bloomberg reported how Witkoff advised top Russian foreign policy official, Yuri Ushakov, on how Putin should approach a conversation with Trump in early October. The details of the phone call, which were later leaked, indicated Witkoff’s closeness to the Kremlin. However, Trump defended his man, saying: “He’s gotta sell this to Ukraine, he’s gotta sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a deal maker does.”

Additionally, Witkoff and Kushner also met with sanctioned Russian businessman Kirill Dmitriev, as per a CNN report, in late October in Miami. It was following this meet with the Russian, who is seen with close ties to Putin, that a 28-point proposal was released to end the Russia-Ukraine war. However, that plan was slammed by Kyiv and Europe, who said it was a capitulation to the Kremlin’s demands.

Many believe that with Trump dispatching Kushner to the Russia along with Witkoff, indicates the US president’s keenness to end this war. As one source told CNN, “The Ukrainians think that Trump views Kushner as the closer. They hope that Jared can close the gap, they are working with the administration on this, but they don’t think it is on the finish line.”

Why does Trump trust Kushner and Witkoff?

Many experts note that Trump’s decision to lean on Kushner and Witkoff in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations comes as a result of their success in brokering peace between Israel and Hamas, earlier this year.

Both of them were in Jerusalem to present Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which was later approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet. But before that, they both criss-crossed through the US and West Asia to get the deal done.

Many have pointed to Kushner’s dealings in West Asia, citing it to be a possible conflict of interest. However, the White House has defended Trump’s son-in-law, with the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt even telling one reporter, “I think it’s frankly despicable that you’re trying to suggest that it’s inappropriate for Jared Kushner, who is widely respected around the world and has great trust and relationships with these critical partners in these countries, to strike a 20-point, comprehensive, detailed peace plan that no other administration would ever be able to achieve.”

It’s left to be seen if Kushner and Witkoff can achieve Trump’s dream of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Perhaps, today’s meeting will provide us with a picture of what to expect next.

With inputs from agencies