Why Is Jared Kushner So Desperate to Make a Deal With Russia? | Weekend Update

✪ I've just switched on a new membership feature so this week paying members will get an an extended cut of this Weekend Update that includes a breakdown of Jared Kushner’s failed business deals in the Balkans from some of the experts I’ve spoken to. I'm putting all membership fees directly into funding my on-the-ground reporting and documentary work so please consider becoming a paying member here by clicking Join:    • EXTENDED CUT: Why Is Jared Kushner So Desp...   Or you can watch the extended cut by purchasing a paid subscription to my Substack: https://sostrovsky.substack.com/p/why... Why is Jared Kushner so eager to strike a deal with Russia? And what do his botched real estate projects in the Balkans tell us about his approach to diplomacy? Donald Trump's son-in-law and special envoy believes business deals can pave the way to peace. I look at how Kushner's track record raises serious questions about whether his brand of "dollar diplomacy" works — and who actually stands to profit. In Albania, Kushner and Ivanka Trump's plans for a sprawling, luxury island resort kicked off the largest protests in the country’s recent history, not to mention got entangled in an ongoing investigation into a cocaine-smuggling crime ring. In neighboring Serbia, Kushner’s plans fell apart amid public opposition when he tried to redevelop a historic site that was bombed by NATO. Now Kushner is reportedly pursuing another major business opportunity involving distressed Russian oil assets, even as he plays a role in negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine. In this Weekend Update, I speak with two Balkan experts, Magda Anastasijevic and Gresa Hasa. We examine Kushner's troubled business ventures in the Balkans, his Middle Eastern financial backers, and the increasingly blurred lines between private profit and American foreign policy.