On behalf of the American President, Ivanka Trump’s husband is looking for a solution to end the war in Ukraine. Can he also benefit from this in business?
Dec 1, 2025, 3:03 amDec 1, 2025, 3:03 am
Renzo Ruf, Washington / ch media
Jared Kushner actually wanted to concentrate on his business activities during his father-in-law’s second term in office. The 44-year-old husband of Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka therefore decided not to hold a government position.
Jared Kushner comes into play when the US President is talking about business.Image: keystone
When delegations from Kiev and Washington gathered on Sunday at an exclusive golf club near Miami for a new round of talks about a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, privateer Kushner was once again at the negotiating table. Right next to the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Ukraine special envoy Steve Witkoff.
How is that possible?
The simplest explanation: For the American president, there is no dividing line between politics and “business”. Already looking for a peace plan for the Gaza war, Trump relied on a new type of diplomacy. And Kushner, whose investment fund Affinity Partners has excellent contacts with members of the ruling families in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, played a central role in negotiating the ceasefire.
Now Witkoff and Kushner also want to use this trick to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine. They envision an economic partnership between Russia, Ukraine and the USA in which raw materials play a central role. “Everyone” could ultimately benefit from this, Witkoff said in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. And if everyone involved were doing better economically, then this would be “a completely natural protective barrier” against future conflicts.
A modern variant of the popular expression “swords into plowshares,” which was already mentioned in the Old Testament.
“Trusting relationships all over the world”
Kushner is the link to the business world. It operates independently of the government apparatus in Washington and is therefore not bound by any legal or ethical requirements. Leading American raw materials companies are already scrounging in the background, wanting to do business in Vladimir Putin’s vast empire after the possible end of the Russia sanctions. The oil multinational ExxonMobil, for example.
Kushner sharply rejects the accusation that he enriches himself in his part-time job as a diplomat: He always acts in America’s interests. He wanted to do good and solve “impossible tasks,” he said in a conversation with the television station CBS, in which Witkoff also took part.
“What others call conflicts of interest, Steve and I call experience and the trusting relationships we maintain around the world.”
Next up is a trip to the Kremlin
It remains unclear how Ukraine could benefit from a “deal” that was largely formulated by the Kremlin and provides for massive territorial separations. Kushner has not yet commented publicly on this point.
But because he enjoys the trust of the American president – his father-in-law – Kiev does not currently appear to be concerned about his presence at the negotiating table. “I was a little surprised to see him at first,” a Ukrainian minister told the Financial Times after the negotiations in Geneva. “But then I thought his state of mind was good.” Unlike Trump, Kushner often speaks in a quiet voice.
The negotiations in Miami ended on Sunday after several hours. Rubio said in a brief statement that the talks had been “very productive” but that important issues awaited resolution. He didn’t discuss the details.
However, Rubio confirmed that Witkoff – probably together with Kushner – would pay a visit to the Kremlin in the coming days. The two Americans want to present a revised version of the peace plan for Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin. (aargauerzeitung.ch)