Trump envoys told Ukraine Russian diesel deal could help revive peace talks

Miami, United States. Envoys representing President Donald Trump told Ukrainian officials on Friday that an agreement permitting Russian diesel exports was intended to encourage Moscow to resume negotiations, three sources with knowledge of the meeting told Reuters. Earlier attempts to establish sustained talks aimed at ending the war had failed.

US envoys outline negotiating strategy

Two sources, speaking anonymously, said Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, told the Ukrainian delegation that Russian President Vladimir Putin remained unwilling to negotiate an end to the war he had been waging in Ukraine for 4 1/2 years. The envoys suggested that the diesel agreement unveiled last week could revive three-way negotiations.

A third source said the American delegation presented the agreement as a possible means of moderating Moscow’s stance, partly by demonstrating Trump’s willingness to engage with Russia.

One source familiar with the meeting described the diesel arrangement as one element of a broader discussion about getting Russia and Ukraine back into negotiations and ending the conflict. Security guarantees for Ukraine were also discussed, the source said, but provided no further details.

Diesel agreement draws criticism

The agreement provides for Russia to deliver over 2.25 million barrels of diesel for markets in the US and elsewhere. Some American lawmakers have criticised it, arguing that Moscow would receive funds to continue the war without Putin having to offer concessions towards ending it.

Defending the arrangement publicly on Monday, Trump called it “the right choice for the American people.”

Trump maintains that the agreement will reduce American energy prices. Those costs have become a political problem for his Republican Party ahead of crucial midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress.

A source close to the Kremlin said the agreement offered a means of drawing Russia back into negotiations. Neither Russia’s embassy in Washington nor the presidential office in Kyiv immediately answered requests for comment.

Refinery attacks and proposed ceasefires

According to the two sources, Kushner also told Ukrainian officials that Trump wanted Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian refineries. He reiterated that the administration had repeatedly made that request.

Trump has argued that Ukrainian strikes are pushing up fuel prices globally, although most experts attribute the elevated costs primarily to the war in Iran.

One source said the proposed approach would allow Washington to tell Moscow that Ukraine had stopped its strikes and that Russia had received the diesel agreement, leaving Russia to take a reciprocal step.

On Sunday, several days after announcing the diesel arrangement, Trump declared that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Neither side has confirmed such an agreement.

Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities on Monday, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected a proposal from Zelenskiy for a comprehensive truce lasting 60 days.