How does including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the U.S. Berlin delegation affect Ukraine’s bargaining power and the emerging peace‑building architecture?
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff's inclusion in the U.S. delegation to the Berlin Ukraine peace talks significantly alters the dynamics of negotiations, weakening Ukraine’s bargaining power and undermining the credibility of the U.S.-led peace-building architecture by prioritizing personal diplomacy over institutional expertise and Western unity, while advancing a framework widely perceived as favoring Russian war aims.
The appointment of Kushner and Witkoff as lead negotiators represents a radical departure from established diplomatic practice, replacing career diplomats and national security officials with individuals whose primary credentials are personal loyalty to President Donald Trump and experience in high-stakes real estate deals. This shift has tangible consequences for Ukraine’s position. By dispatching envoys widely perceived as lacking foreign policy experience and possessing potentially conflicting business interests, the U.S. has inadvertently signaled to the Kremlin that it is more committed to achieving a deal for domestic political gain than to upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty and the existing security orderTrump’s ‘peace plan’ was a pro-Kremlin abomination whose failure is a glimmer of hope for Ukraine | Rajan Menon | The Guardiantheguardian +2. Witkoff and Kushner may be shrewd business negotiators, but they have scant diplomatic experience and even less knowledge of Ukraine. (Witkoff has recited Kremlin talking points after meeting Putin.) Their influence stems largely from personal ties to TrumpTrump’s ‘peace plan’ was a pro-Kremlin abomination whose failure is a glimmer of hope for Ukraine | Rajan Menon | The Guardiantheguardian . This perception of inexperience and political alignment has emboldened Moscow, which has used the presence of these non-traditional negotiators to stall for time and avoid making serious concessions, confident that it is negotiating with counterparts who are desperate for a headline-making agreement that Trump can claim as a victorySpecial Envoy Steve Witkoff: Peacebroker or Pawn of Russian Interests? - Robert Lansing Institutelansinginstitute .
The most direct impact on Ukraine’s bargaining power is evident in the content of the 28-point peace plan that Witkoff and Kushner have been advancing. This proposal, largely drafted in coordination with Putin's confidant Kirill Dmitriev, demands that Ukraine cede significant territory in the east not yet occupied by Russian forces, formalize a pledge not to join NATO, and drastically reduce the size of its armed forcesPutin aide comments on Kushner’s role in Ukraine talksrt +1. By placing these Russian demands at the center of the U.S.-led negotiation framework, Witkoff and Kushner have pre-emptively accepted Moscow's red lines as the starting point for talks, thereby constraining Ukraine’s room for maneuver before serious negotiations with Kyiv have even begunSpecial Envoy Steve Witkoff: Peacebroker or Pawn of Russian Interests? - Robert Lansing Institutelansinginstitute +1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has explicitly rejected U.S. proposals for Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk and create a demilitarized zone, calling them unworkableUS envoys arrive in Berlin for next round of Ukraine peace ...newsnationnow , and Ukrainian officials view the Witkoff-Kushner plan as a de facto capitulation to RussiaHow Steve Witkoff pushed Ukraine sympathizers out of White House, and led the US into Russia's armskyivindependent . The fact that this plan was negotiated with a Russian official under U.S. sanctions, Dmitryev, further delegitimizes it in Kyiv's eyes and demonstrates a willingness to bypass formal diplomatic protocols for backchannel deals that serve narrow interests.
Furthermore, the U.S. envoys’ actions have created a profound crisis of trust between Kyiv and Washington. The revelation, through leaked transcripts, that Witkoff instructed Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on how Putin should flatter Trump by calling him a “real peace man” to secure a call, revealed a transactional view of diplomacy that shocked European and Ukrainian allies. This and the leaked recording of Witkoff telling Ushakov in blunt terms that a peace deal “is going to take Donetsk,” confirm Ukrainian fears that the U.S. is negotiating in bad faith and has already conceded to Russian territorial demands‘Traitor’: US representatives call for Trump envoy Witkoff to be fired after leaked Kremlin call | Trump administration | The Guardiantheguardian . As a result, Ukraine cannot be sure that the U.S. delegation is acting as a neutral or even sympathetic mediator. Instead, the perception is that Kiev is being pressured to accept a settlement on Russia’s terms, effectively reducing Kyiv’s role from a sovereign equal to a party that must be coerced into complianceSpecial Envoy Steve Witkoff: Peacebroker or Pawn of Russian Interests? - Robert Lansing Institutelansinginstitute +1.
The presence of Kushner and Witkoff at the heart of these negotiations has not only damaged U.S.-Ukrainian relations but has also severely undermined American credibility with its most critical European allies—Germany, France, and the United Kingdom—on whose support Ukraine ultimately depends for its security. European officials have expressed deep concern and anxiety over Washington’s role in the negotiations, viewing the Witkoff-Kushner process as erratic, poorly coordinated, and dangerously aligned with Moscow’s agendaUS envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Ukraine national security chief in Miami | Ukraine | The Guardiantheguardian . The fact that a major peace proposal was drafted in meetings between a U.S. special envoy, the president’s son-in-law, and a Russian official under U.S. sanctions in Miami has been seen in Europe as a “cardinal sin of diplomacy” that bypasses traditional alliance consultationsSpecial Envoy Steve Witkoff: Peacebroker or Pawn of Russian Interests? - Robert Lansing Institutelansinginstitute .
This unilateralism has eroded allied confidence in U.S. leadership. Diplomats report a growing sense that “there is no real plan here” from the Americans, which fuels distrust and anxiety among NATO’s frontline states like Poland and the Baltics who fear that Kyiv may be the first nation sacrificed in a broader realignment with RussiaSpecial Envoy Steve Witkoff: Peacebroker or Pawn of Russian Interests? - Robert Lansing Institutelansinginstitute . When U.S. negotiators push for Ukraine to renounce NATO membership, a principle European powers have long supported, it sends a destabilizing message that America may not honor its security commitments. This perception that Washington is willing to trade away Ukrainian sovereignty for a quick political win could fray NATO unity at a critical moment, weakening Kyiv’s leverage. Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of General Staff General Andriy Hnatov have continued to meet with Witkoff and Kushner for “constructive discussions,” but this engagement appears tactical rather than a sign of confidence, as the Ukrainian delegation is likely operating on the understanding that any real settlement requires broader international backing that the current U.S. delegation cannot deliver aloneMeeting Between Special Envoy for Peace Steven Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Ukrainian Secretary of National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, and Chief of General Staff General Andriy Hnatov - United States Department of Statestate .
Although Kushner entered the negotiation track later than Witkoff, his role has been pivotal in shaping the document. Top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov stated that Kushner “turned out to be very timely” and added “an element of systematization” to the talks, believing that “if a settlement is drafted on paper, then the one holding the pen, to a large extent, will be Mr. Kushner”Putin aide comments on Kushner’s role in Ukraine talksrt . This assessment is corroborated by sources who note Kushner’s involvement in drafting the plan alongside Witkoff and DmitrievUkraine is cautiously optimistic as Trump's son-in-law ...kyivindependent . Furthermore, Kushner has been directly involved in advancing specific components of the plan that align with Saudi interests, particularly ensuring the free flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, which became Point 23 of the 28-point documentKushner’s Moscow mission wasn’t just corrupt. It was unconstitutional.popular . His inclusion brings not only his personal relationship with Trump but also a network of Gulf financial connections that are seen as potential investors in a post-war reconstruction plan that could repurpose frozen Russian assetsFive Questions About American Foreign Policysubstack .
The Witkoff-Kushner model of diplomacy, rooted in personal access and business acumen rather than institutional knowledge, has redefined the U.S. approach to peace-making in a manner that is deeply destabilizing to the rules-based order. Their negotiation strategy, which treats frozen Russian assets worth $300 billion as a "gold mine" for U.S.-led reconstruction and joint investment projects, including potential exploitation of Arctic minerals, appears to the rest of the West as an exercise in war profiteering that rewards the aggressorTrump officials try to reassure Ukraine’s negotiators over peace deal ahead of Putin meeting this week | The Independentthe-independent +1. By positioning the United States to receive up to 50% of investment profits from frozen Russian funds used for rebuilding Ukraine—a proposal revealed in leaked documents—Washington risks being perceived not as a neutral arbiter but as a principal beneficiary of the conflict it aims to endAnalysis: Witkoff Plan on Russian Assets: Profit for Washington, the Bill for Europekyivpost . This transactional framing of peace, where sovereignty is bartered for profit, directly contradicts the principles for which Ukraine has fought and weakens the moral authority of the U.S.-led process.
The cumulative effect of these factors is a peace-building architecture that is internally inconsistent and externally distrusted. Ukraine’s bargaining power is diminished because the U.S. delegation, instead of amplifying Kyiv’s voice, has become a conduit for Russian demands dressed as a compromise. European cohesion is fractured because the U.S. process operates outside NATO and EU channels, creating parallel tracks that allow Russia to divide and delay. While Witkoff and Kushner report progress and Putin describes talks as “very useful,” no concrete deal has materialized, suggesting that the process is more about optics for the domestic U.S. audience than a genuine path to peaceUS cites progress in meeting with Ukraine officials, sets further talks | World Newshindustantimes +1. For Ukraine, the greatest risk is not just territorial loss, but being forced into a “durable peace” that lacks legitimacy among its people and its allies, setting the stage for future conflict. As long as the U.S. delegation is defined by personal loyalty over diplomatic integrity, a sustainable settlement remains beyond reach.