Mike H Ross

Mr. Kushner, Thank you for the update. As a Czech citizen, I have a few questions about your negotiations. I hope you won't mind if they're rather direct. First, do you fully understand the difference between an aggressor and a victim? Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukraine did not invade Russia. Yet your statement speaks of “territorial issues” and “reciprocal commitments” as though both countries were equally responsible for this war. Second, what exactly do you mean by a new European security architecture? Russia previously demanded a return to NATO's 1997 military posture. So let me ask you: how do you intend to explain to Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic states that their security might once again be subject to Moscow's approval? Do these sovereign countries get to decide their own future, or is that something you intend to negotiate with Vladimir Putin on their behalf? Third, about those Russian non-aggression agreements. Moscow is now suggesting separate non-aggression pacts with NATO countries. How reassuring. Russia already promised to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and borders in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. We all know how that worked out. So what happens when Putin breaks his next promise? Should we expect Russian tanks to arrive first and an American expression of disappointment shortly afterward? Fourth, what would make these security guarantees genuinely enforceable? Who responds if Russia attacks again? How quickly? And with what military commitments? Because a signature from Moscow is not a security guarantee. Ukraine has already learned that lesson at an extraordinarily high price. And finally, one simple question: Why are we negotiating how much the victim must surrender instead of demanding that the aggressor withdraw? I want peace for Ukraine. I want peace for Europe. But peace cannot mean giving Vladimir Putin a reward for invading his neighbor. Mr. Kushner, European countries are sovereign nations, not properties on a real estate development plan. You cannot negotiate away our security and then present the result as a historic peace deal.