Comments by Jared Kushner about a possible "win-win" situation for Ukraine and Russia were slammed by an appalled national security expert.
During a Monday appearance on CNN, Alex Plitsas responded to Kushner's idea that Russia can get a win out of the war in Ukraine without infringing on territorial rights and sovereignty. Kushner suggested a "win-win" outcome while meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday as part of President Donald Trump's envoy, along with Steve Witkoff, to Ukraine and Russia.
"The sound bites that came out of Kyiv and Moscow from this trip, I'm sorry, were nothing short of embarrassing for the United States and were absolutely abhorrent," Plitsas said. "The idea that we should give in to Vladimir Putin's aspirations as part of this is absurd."
The weekend visit by Kushner and Witkoff marked the envoys' first trip to Kyiv since the war began, but no major breakthroughs were announced.
Plitsas said that Putin's troops have "killed hundreds of thousands across Ukraine" and noted "documented heinous war crimes, including raping and pillaging and hundreds of thousands dead." Those actions are meant to meet Putin's "aspirations to take the rest of the country," Plitsas explained.
"So while there's a recognition that there may have to be some territorial swaps, the language that is used in diplomacy is important," he said.
Plitsas also ripped into Witkoff for comments he made while meeting with Putin on Saturday. Witkoff said that he and Kushner plan to reminisce about his meeting with Putin after their retirements.
"The language that was used about what fond memories they would have of negotiations in Moscow, followed by the idea that Vladimir Putin's aspirations are valid to be taken into account, is absolutely absurd," Plitsas said. "I was actually pretty disgusted with what I heard."
Plitsas added, "It's the first time I've used that type of language to describe this, but this was embarrassing."