The dust hasn’t even settled on the latest so-called “peace push,” yet the cracks are already visible.
What we’re watching unfold is not diplomacy, not strategy, and certainly not statesmanship. It is a scramble driven by personal agendas, private business interests, and a level of geopolitical theatre that borders on reckless.
At the centre of it all is Donald Trump, flanked by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two businessmen with no mandate to negotiate peace in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands and threatens the security of Europe.
If the transcripts involving Witkoff tell us anything, it’s that the world’s most consequential conflict is being dragged into a backroom negotiation where the lines between diplomacy and private financial gain have become dangerously blurred.
Witkoff’s transcripts: A glimpse behind the curtain
When transcripts of Steve Witkoff’s conversations surfaced, the real revelation wasn’t just the content, it was the intent. Here was a property developer openly discussing narratives, messaging, and strategies with Russian state media figures. He wasn’t acting as a neutral broker. He wasn’t gathering facts. He was coaching them, feeding directly into the propaganda machine that has justified mass killing, deportations, and occupation.
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Trump told EU will not agree to any peace deal unless Putin is punished for ‘war crimes’
And days later, he appears in meetings tied to U.S.–Ukraine “peace talks.”
The question isn’t why Ukraine is alarmed. The question is why anyone in Washington isn’t.
Witkoff has no clearance, no diplomatic standing, and no obligation to defend Western security interests. Yet he inserted himself into a negotiation that will determine the future borders of Europe. His communications suggest he wasn’t working toward peace; he was preparing a narrative favourable to Trump, a narrative that could be used to sell a “deal” even if that deal rewards Moscow for ethnic cleansing and terror.
This is not diplomacy. It is narrative engineering.
The Kushner factor: Business before security
Jared Kushner’s involvement only deepens the suspicion. For years he has operated in a grey zone, half diplomat, half businessman. His dealings with Gulf states already raised eyebrows, especially when billions in post-administration investment materialised from partners whose political objectives aligned conveniently with his.
Now he resurfaces in conversations about Ukraine. Not as a government envoy. Not as a representative of Congress. But as Jared Kushner, a private citizen with a well-documented record of turning political access into financial opportunity.
Peace for Ukraine should not be a family business. Yet that’s precisely what this increasingly resembles.
Kushner and Witkoff appear to be straddling two worlds: one foot in high-stakes international business, the other in geopolitical negotiations normally reserved for seasoned diplomats. The pattern is becoming impossible to ignore, Trump-adjacent figures using the language of diplomacy to pursue outcomes that look suspiciously like private gain dressed up as “peace.”
Marco Rubio: The conveniently selective appearance
Senator Marco Rubio’s sudden appearance does little to reassure Ukrainians or America’s allies. For months, Republicans aligned with Trump have shown no interest in pressuring Moscow, no urgency in strengthening NATO, and no appetite for ramping up support for Ukraine.
Yet Rubio materialises — only — at the Ukrainian side of the talks.
Why is he not present with the Russian delegation?
Why not in joint sessions?
Why only Ukraine?
Because optics matter more than substance. Rubio’s presence gives the illusion of Congressional legitimacy. But illusions don’t stop missiles. Illusions don’t deter Russia. Illusions don’t rebuild destroyed cities, and they certainly don’t challenge Trump’s narrative.
Inside Washington, this looks exactly like what it is: a political fig leaf, designed to create distance between Trump’s private negotiating team and the growing accusations that this entire process is being run out of hotel rooms and WhatsApp chats.
The Trump doctrine: Trump first, America later
The biggest concern is not Witkoff or Kushner, it’s Trump himself. His worldview has always been transactional: deals come first, morality is optional, and loyalty is a commodity.
So why is Venezuela suddenly relevant to negotiations about Ukraine?
Because Venezuela has oil. Because Venezuela has leverage and because Trump’s business interests seem to orbit the same places where geopolitical decisions are being made.
It is also conveniently on America’s doorstep at a moment when Trump is dealing with mounting domestic problems, from the Epstein fallout to new allegations involving figures like Pete Hegseth and potential war crimes.
This isn’t foreign policy. It’s personal policy, designed to deflect and reshape narratives while potentially opening the door to a wider geopolitical trade-off. A scenario where China moves on Taiwan, while Russia and China “stay away” from Venezuela, is now being openly speculated on.
Venezuela’s sudden appearance says the quiet part out loud: Trump may be trying to bundle global crises into a mega-deal that benefits Trump Inc. more than U.S. national security. It’s the “art of the deal” warped into the art of self-preservation.
What does this say about Trump’s real intent?
Strip away the noise, and Trump’s intent becomes clearer:
- He wants a “win” he can sell to U.S. voters — even if it costs Ukraine its territory.
- He wants to appear as the only man who can “end the war” — even if the deal rewards Russia’s genocide.
- He wants leverage over global energy markets — even if it means courting autocrats like Maduro.
- He wants financial advantage, not peace.
A peace deal built on private conversations, business ties, and propaganda coordination is not peace, it is capitulation dressed up as diplomacy.
Ukraine deserves a peace founded on justice. Europe deserves security built on deterrence, not deals drafted by hotel-lobby diplomats. And the world deserves leaders who understand that war cannot be outsourced to people whose experience begins and ends with real-estate speculation.
Conclusion: A dangerous precedent
The current “peace talks” are not genuine negotiations. They are a test balloon launched by individuals with no mandate, no expertise, and no accountability.
The presence of businessmen, the absence of transparency, the selective appearance of Rubio, and the shadow of Venezuela all point to one conclusion:
Trump is preparing a deal for himself, not for Ukraine, not for America, and certainly not for peace.
And if this is the team shaping the future of Europe, then the real danger is not what happens at the negotiating table, but what happens after America decides that peace can be bought, sold, and bartered like prime real estate.
