Kushner offered Moscow frozen billions just for a partial truce
Turns out the art of the deal now includes handing back seized billions before the other side even pretends to behave.
In late September, negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff reportedly brought Moscow a tempting economic care package in exchange for a partial ceasefire on energy grids and maritime routes.
The centerpiece was unfreezing billions of dollars in Russian state assets as an upfront incentive rather than a reward for actually honoring a deal. Previous talks had floated unlocking as much as $100 billion.
The package also pitched selling a slice of Russian oil giant Lukoil to Middle Eastern investors—some of whom conveniently have business ties to the negotiators themselves—alongside greenlighting potash exports from Belarus.
Kyiv did not outright reject the pitch, but countered with a basic sanity check: mirror payments of equal value to Ukraine, or rock-solid military aid guarantees when the truce inevitably breaks.
Returning a burglar's seized wallet on the promise that he will only loot the garage rarely secures the rest of the house.
Source: The New York Times
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