‘There’s been really no progress’: Reporter confronts Jared Kushner over his alleged failed negotiation record. Then he turns intensely defensive

NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel pressed Jared Kushner about his record as a negotiator during a press conference in Kyiv on Sept. 7, 2026, asking why anyone should have confidence in Kushner’s ability to help end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“You have been involved in numerous negotiations around the world,” Engel said. “Why should people have any confidence in your capacity to succeed here?”

Engel then pointed to Kushner’s involvement in negotiations involving Gaza and Iran. “But Gaza remains a wasteland,” Engel said. “There’s been really no progress there. Iran, you were involved in those negotiations. The war is still going on.”

Engel also scrutinized Kushner’s previous involvement in Russia-Ukraine talks.

Per NBC News, Engel continued by referring to Kushner’s involvement in previous rounds of negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “You’ve been involved in several rounds of negotiations in this conflict,” Engel said. “It’s only getting more intense.”

Engel added, “So you’re relaunching negotiations now. What’s the likelihood they will succeed, when other negotiations you’ve been involved in have not?”

The exchange came as Kushner and fellow U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two envoys had met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before traveling to Ukraine.

The discussions sought to revive negotiations aimed at ending the war, but the meetings did not produce an immediate breakthrough. Reuters reported that Zelenskyy later described proposals presented by the U.S. envoys as “decent ideas” while saying further work remained and the conflict would continue into the winter.

Kushner defended his role.

Rather than accepting Engel’s characterization of his record, Kushner responded, “I think these are some of the hardest problem sets in the world.” He added that he and Witkoff bring different approaches but “work very well together as partners.”

Kushner then emphasized that they were acting on President Trump’s behalf. “But we’re not bringing our approaches,” he said. “We’re really representing President Trump, and we’re doing it the way that he wants to see these things done.”

Kushner also pointed to his work during Trump’s first administration, citing the 2020 Abraham Accords and other accomplishments. He later told Engel that the question sounded like, “Why haven’t you done every single impossible thing possible?”

Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, served as a senior adviser during Trump’s first administration. He has since become involved in the administration’s international diplomacy despite not holding a traditional Cabinet-level diplomatic position. His current work has included negotiations involving Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.

His diplomatic role has also drawn scrutiny because of his business interests. Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a private-equity firm that has received substantial investment from Middle Eastern sources, including Saudi Arabia.

Critics have questioned whether those financial relationships could create potential conflicts while Kushner participates in U.S. diplomacy involving the same region. A House Judiciary Committee Democratic letter in April cited concerns about Kushner’s business relationships and his diplomatic activities.

Reuters reports that the next step is for Ukrainian, U.S. and European representatives to continue working on the proposals discussed by Kushner and Witkoff and prepare for a possible trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Zelenskyy said that meeting could take place in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland or another country.

He also said future discussions could address grain shipments, energy infrastructure and prisoner exchanges, while emphasizing that negotiations need to produce concrete results.