Three senior US Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday (November 11) strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, accusing them of undermining Ukraine’s ability to resist the Russian invasion, pressuring kyiv to cede its sovereign territory and promoting Kremlin demands that threaten NATO and US national security.
In a strongly worded joint statement, Congressman Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Congressman Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee; and Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, strongly condemned the envoys for harming Ukraine while advancing Russian interests.
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“Ukraine continues to inflict massive casualties on the Russian military and cripple the Russian economy, while U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff continue to undermine Ukraine’s ability to negotiate a just and lasting settlement to Putin’s brutal and illegal invasion,” the lawmakers said.
They also warned that the envoys’ actions threatened NATO, which they described as “the most successful alliance in history.”
“Their repetition of the Kremlin’s arguments about renegotiation of European security and possible withdrawal from Eastern Europe is completely unacceptable for the continued viability of NATO and the national security of the United States,” the statement said.
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Democrats condemn push to abandon Ukraine’s fortified defenses
Lawmakers accused Kushner and Witkoff of repeatedly pressuring kyiv to cede sovereign Ukrainian territory, including its heavily fortified defensive positions in Donbass.
“This comes on top of continued pressure from Kushner and Witkoff for kyiv to cede sovereign Ukrainian territory, including its belt of fortresses – key defensive positions preventing a rapid advance westward,” they said.
The statement accused the envoys of repeatedly bypassing, ignoring and undermining the U.S. intelligence community and the State Department.
“Their Trumpian transactional approach, in which they treat a nation’s struggle for survival as a real estate deal, threatens global stability,” the lawmakers said.
“They and Trump work for Putin, not for the benefit of the American people. »
The accusations come as President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected US pressure to cede Donbas territory at a press conference in Dublin.
“The American side very often raises the topic of Donbass, a part of our Ukrainian territory,” Zelensky said on Wednesday.
“They think that to end this war, we must leave our territory. It is impossible to speak like this with us, with an independent and sovereign country.”
“Putin only responds to force”
Meeks, Smith and Reed warned that weakening Ukraine while reducing pressure on Moscow would not produce lasting peace but would instead reward Russian aggression.
“Congress and the American people also understand that Putin only responds to force,” they said.
“Negotiating to remove all pressure on him while undermining Ukraine has not succeeded and will never succeed. »
Lawmakers also condemned proposals that could undermine NATO’s post-Cold War security arrangements by responding to Russian demands for a reduced Western military presence in Eastern Europe.
“Promoting a post-war security arrangement that seeks to destroy NATO’s post-Cold War mandate of a ‘Europe whole, free and at peace’ only benefits Russia and threatens serious consequences for us and the rest of the world,” they warned.
They argued that Congress and the American public had historically supported Ukraine and NATO because it was both strategically sound and morally right.
Lawmakers also criticized what they described as the administration’s emphasis on transactional diplomacy at the expense of U.S. national security interests.
Democrats warn Trump against trying to appease Putin
The statement comes ahead of a meeting scheduled for Thursday between Kushner, Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
As the Kyiv Post reported, the envoys are expected to meet with Putin before heading to Dublin to continue negotiations with Zelensky.
Zelensky expressed skepticism about Moscow’s ability to provide concrete responses to the proposals discussed at the Abu Dhabi negotiations, while insisting that Washington must put pressure on Russia rather than demanding territorial concessions from Ukraine.
Zelensky also stressed that kyiv needs binding security guarantees from the United States, not promises from Moscow.
Democratic lawmakers concluded their statement with a direct warning to Trump, accusing his envoys of pursuing an approach that risks rewarding the Russian invasion.
“The administration has declared itself in favor of “peace through strength”. The president should inform Kushner and Witkoff that Ukraine’s capitulation and Putin’s appeasement will bring neither peace nor strength.”
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