Foto: BB.LV / Кушнер
Direct quote: "Kushner linked his efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine with a call for broader multilateral negotiations between Russia and Europe on post-war security on the continent. According to an official familiar with the negotiations, Kushner is using the NATO-Russia Council, which was established after the Cold War but was suspended in 2014 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, as a model." Details: European officials told the journalist on Friday that they are open to dialogue with Russia but will agree to security frameworks only after a ceasefire is achieved in Ukraine. "Both tracks are working," wrote a knowledgeable official from a country that is a close ally of the U.S. However, he warned that "a peace agreement on Ukraine must be reached before an agreement on security architecture can be concluded." A senior official from another key European country explained in his message: "This approach carries many risks for us, but it is better to engage than to abstain. Our position remains unchanged: these issues can only be discussed after the war ends. ... Negotiations will not be easy." This official emphasized that while leading European leaders support Kushner's efforts, there is "broad unity" in Europe that any negotiations between Europe and Russia must occur only after a ceasefire is established. According to Ignatius, the sequence of these steps will be a decisive factor. "Kushner aims for the process to happen simultaneously — so to speak, for both trains to arrive at the same time. Europe, supporting Ukraine, insists that the ceasefire issue must come first," he writes. According to the journalist, Russian President Vladimir Putin "enthusiastically welcomed the pan-European security plan" during a meeting on October 21 in St. Petersburg with Steve Witkoff, which Kushner joined via video conference. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump met at the White House with Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Afterward, Trump boasted that he is close to concluding a "big, beautiful deal" that will cover Ukraine and "all of Europe." "This is extremely premature, considering what I heard on Friday from European officials," adds the WP commentator.
