America’s outsider peace duo faces biggest test in trio of hotspots

(Stephen Collinson – CNN) Witkoff and Kushner. It sounds like an elite law firm, a 1970s cop show or even a duo of visionary architects, since they hope to turn battlefields into futuristic cityscapes. But Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are running President Donald Trump’s freelance peacekeeping franchise, on which global stability, countless lives and their boss’s best hope of that elusive Nobel Peace Prize depend. The pair were in the thick of it Tuesday, on an extraordinary double-barreled day of diplomacy in Geneva, huddling with Russian, Ukrainian and Iranian officials. They’re expected back in Washington this week for a meeting of the Board of Peace — Trump’s personal big-dollar private global diplomacy network. The two super-rich, well-connected American dealmakers are charged with ending one vicious war and preventing one that might be about to erupt. Success in either case would be a huge achievement, but both goals seem intractable. Trump’s hopes for a deal with Iran, as he masses a vast armada within shooting distance, only crawled forward Tuesday. The Iranians touted an understanding on “guiding principles.” But Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that while things “went well” in some ways, Tehran won’t acknowledge some of Trump’s red lines. The first of two days of talks between Ukraine and Russia also highlighted a big potential roadblock: the question of whether Moscow really wants to end the fighting or is only playing at diplomacy to buy time for battlefield wins. Still, talks are taking place. Given global skepticism about the prospects for agreements and of the Witkoff and Kushner double act, this is an achievement in itself and a mark of Trump’s desire to work for peace. – Witkoff and Kushner: America’s outsider peace duo faces biggest test in trio of hotspots | CNN Politics