Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev publicly defended Jared Kushner after reports linked Kushner and Steve Witkoff to private investors that could seek Russian oil assets as part of a proposed Ukraine peace deal. The New York Times named a Trump donor and a Qatar-based conglomerate controlled by Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat as potential beneficiaries. CNN separately reported Kushner’s firm has stakes connected to Israeli businesses involved in military operations. Ethics experts warned the arrangements raise serious conflict-of-interest concerns.
Kremlin Official Defends Jared Kushner Amid Reports of Ties to Potential Russia Oil Deal
Bing Guan / REUTERS
A senior Russian diplomat publicly defended Jared Kushner after media reports suggested Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff may be linked to private business interests that could seek to acquire Russian oil assets as part of a proposed Ukraine peace package.
Kirill Dmitriev speaks with Jared Kushner prior to their meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sept. 5, 2026. / GAVRIIL GRIGOROV / POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The New York Times reported that Kushner and Witkoff have been involved in efforts to shape a plan for U.S.-backed investors to obtain Russian assets, including extensive oil fields, as part of a broader energy arrangement tied to a potential settlement of the war in Ukraine. The reporting named a Trump campaign donor and a Qatar-based conglomerate controlled by brothers Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat among those who could benefit.
Putin's envoy throws his support behind Kushner. / X
The Al-Khayyat brothers, who reportedly attended President Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, have partnered with Kushner and Ivanka Trump on financing a multibillion-dollar luxury resort in southern Albania, the reporting said. Other potential stakeholders were described as having links to the Trump family and to Witkoff, including ties through the Trump family's cryptocurrency company, World Liberty, which is partly managed by Witkoff’s son.
Kirill Dmitriev. / Contributor / Getty Images
Separately, CNN reported that Kushner’s private equity firm holds a stake in an Israeli company that supports businesses involved in Israel’s military operations. CNN also said Kushner’s voluntary, unpaid role as a presidential envoy may have reduced formal scrutiny of potential business conflicts.
Steve Witkoff. / Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
After Kushner denied on X that he had been involved in any similarly self-interested deal connected to Israel, Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev replied directly to his post to offer public support. Dmitriev wrote:
Jared Kushner responds to reporting about his potential conflicts of interest. / X/Jared Kushner
“Jared is a Peacemaker. Peacemakers get attacked for peacemaking because warmongers lavishly fund those attacks. But peacemakers will prevail and warmongers will lose. 🕊️”
A spokeswoman for Witkoff told The New York Times that he does not draw a government salary and has “no conflict of interest, and no financial stake in this matter.” Kushner, Witkoff and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ethics experts expressed concern about the reported ties. Hui Chen, a former Justice Department ethics adviser, told The Times, “This is an alarming and very concerning set of entanglements. You have to question how the Trump administration is evaluating the different bidders involved here. Are the personal interests involved going to wrongly influence the outcome?”
Reporting remains based on The New York Times and CNN investigations; the implicated parties have disputed or pushed back on the descriptions of their roles. The matter raises questions about the intersection of private business interests and informal diplomatic efforts tied to an active international conflict.
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