Trump's son-in-law Kushner seeks to revive NATO-Russia Council model as part of efforts to end war

Jared Kushner, US Special Envoy and Donald Trump's son-in-law, is looking to the NATO-Russia Council model when discussing broader arrangements for post-war security in Europe. However, European officials stress that a ceasefire in Ukraine must be achieved first.

Source: The Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, citing sources

Quote: "Kushner has linked his push for a Ukraine truce with a call for broader multilateral talks between Russia and Europe about postwar security for the continent. According to an official familiar with the negotiations, Kushner's model is the NATO-Russia Council, which was established after the Cold War but suspended in 2014 after Russia invaded Ukraine and seized Crimea."

Details: European officials told the journalist on Friday that they are ready for dialogue with Russia but will only agree to a security framework after a ceasefire has been reached in Ukraine.

"Both tracks are on," an informed official from a country that is a close US ally wrote in a message. However, the official cautioned that "Ukraine peace agreement has to be settled before agreement on security architecture".

A senior official from another key European country explained in a message: "Many risks for us in this approach, but better to engage than not. Our approach is still that these issues can be discussed only after the war. … Not gonna be easy talks."

The official stressed that, although leading European leaders support Kushner's efforts, there is "broad unity in Europe" that any talks between Europe and Russia should take place only after a ceasefire has been agreed.

According to Ignatius, the sequencing of these steps will be the decisive issue.

"Kushner wants a simultaneous process, with both trains arriving at the same time, so to speak. Europe, standing with Ukraine, is insisting that the ceasefire track come first," he wrote.

The journalist reports that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin "is said to have been enthusiastic about the Europe-wide security plan" during a meeting with Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on 21 October, which Kushner joined by video conference.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump met Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House. After the meeting, Trump boasted that he is close to reaching a "big, beautiful agreement" that will cover Ukraine and "all of Europe".

"That's wildly premature, given what I heard Friday from European officials," the WP columnist adds.

Background:

• Trump said that a new major deal concerning Ukraine and potentially affecting the whole of Europe could be reached in the near future.
• An unclear proposal by the US administration for a new security deal with Russia in Europe has prompted scepticism and concern in European capitals, which fear it could push the continent into the background of negotiations.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Trump's administration on Saturday that its proposed new security plan for Europe could be "dangerous", as Russia has shown no signs of wanting to end the war.

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