Trump Using Diesel Deal To ‘Soften’ Moscow For Peace Talks –Sources
President Donald Trump’s envoys told Ukrainian officials on Friday that a deal to allow Russian diesel exports is part of a bid to draw Russia back to negotiations after the failure of previous efforts to launch sustained talks to end the war, three people familiar with the meeting told Reuters.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner told the Ukrainians in a meeting in Miami that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not prepared to negotiate an end to his 4 1/2-year-old war in Ukraine and that the deal announced last week could help restart trilateral talks, said two of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The third person said the US relayed to the Ukrainians that the diesel deal could help “soften” Moscow’s position in part because it “sends a signal that Trump is open to do things” with Russia.
That deal, under which Russia will supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to US and global markets, has triggered a backlash from some US lawmakers, who say it will give Moscow cash to pursue its war without forcing Putin to make concessions to end the conflict. On Monday, Trump publicly defended the deal, calling it “the right choice for the American people.”
Trump says the agreement will lower US energy prices, which have become a political headache for his Republican Party ahead of pivotal midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
Trump also wanted the Ukrainians to stop striking Russian refineries, Kushner said in the meeting, reiterating that the administration had made that request several times, the two people said. Trump has said Ukraine’s attacks are increasing global fuel prices, but most experts say the war in Iran is the main driver of the high costs.
“The idea was that the US could go back to Russia and say ‘See, the Ukrainians stopped striking and we gave you this deal. Now it’s your turn to do something,’” one of the people said.
Trump on Sunday announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine days after unveiling the diesel deal. The warring sides have not confirmed the ceasefire, though, and Russia struck energy targets inside Ukraine on Monday as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected a Zelenskiy proposal for a full 60-day truce.
The Russian Embassy in Washington and the presidential office in Kyiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A person close to the Kremlin said the diesel deal “is a way to bring Russia back” to the negotiations.
One of the people familiar with the meeting said the diesel agreement is just one part of a larger conversation about how to bring Ukraine and Russia back to the negotiating table and end the war. The meeting also touched on security guarantees for Ukraine, the person said, without elaborating.
Trump has repeatedly said Putin wants to reach a settlement to end the war — a claim he repeated on Saturday. Ukrainian and European officials have expressed doubts that the Russian leader is willing to end the military campaign soon.
The envoys’ comment that Putin is not prepared to end his war suggests that Trump’s view is not uniformly held within the administration./REUTERS
