Trump administration weighs separate economic deals with Russia before war in Ukraine ends
The Trump administration is considering separate economic and other agreements with Russia before the end of the war in Ukraine, The New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with discussions inside the US administration. Potential areas of cooperation include energy and investment. A core obstacle remains the territorial question: Vladimir Putin insists on Russian control of Ukrainian territories Moscow claims, while Ukraine refuses to withdraw troops from them.
Key points
- The New York Times reported the Trump administration is considering separate economic and other deals with Russia before the war ends.
- Washington may pursue such arrangements regardless of whether a comprehensive ceasefire is reached.
- Potential cooperation areas include energy and investment, where US and Russian companies could resume interaction.
- US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in early September to discuss alternative paths forward.
- There is no unified US administration position; some officials warn economic incentives could reduce Washington's leverage on the Kremlin.
- Trump previously promised no business deals with Russia until the war is resolved; the current approach is seen as a departure from that pledge.
- Congress has approved a sanctions bill targeting Russia's energy sector; Trump has indicated he would sign it.
Why it matters
The reported consideration of separate US-Russia deals would mark a potential policy shift toward partial normalization with Moscow while the war in Ukraine is still ongoing, and stands in apparent contrast to Trump's earlier promise not to conclude business deals with Russia until the war is resolved. At the same time, Congress has approved a sanctions bill targeting Russia's energy sector that Trump has indicated he would sign, illustrating parallel tracks of engagement and pressure. Analysts describe the strategy as a "carrot and stick" approach, with current emphasis on incentives to Moscow.
What happened
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is considering separate economic and other agreements with Russia before the end of the war in Ukraine, citing sources familiar with discussions inside the US administration. Washington may pursue such arrangements regardless of whether a comprehensive ceasefire is reached. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been seeking alternative paths to advance negotiations after their early-September meeting at the Kremlin with Vladimir Putin. Potential areas of cooperation under discussion include energy and investment, where American and Russian companies could resume interaction. According to the report, there is no unified position within the Trump administration: some officials believe that offering economic incentives before the war ends could reduce Washington's leverage to pressure the Kremlin, while others see such deals as a way to demonstrate seriousness about restoring relations with Moscow. The approach is described as "carrot and stick," with the current emphasis on the carrots. A central obstacle remains the territorial question: Putin insists on Russian control over Ukrainian territories Moscow considers its own, while Ukraine refuses to withdraw troops from them.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language media frame the development as a potential concession to Moscow that could come before the war ends, and stress the contrast with Trump's earlier promise not to sign deals with Russia until the war is resolved. They foreground the territorial impasse — Putin's insistence on Russian control of disputed areas versus Ukraine's refusal to withdraw troops — as the central obstacle, and pair the deal reports with coverage of Congress's "hellish sanctions" bill and Trump's criticism of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, presenting parallel pressure points on Kyiv as well as Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hoped to meet Trump during UN General Assembly events in New York in late September; Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said a key possible outcome could be an end to strikes on Ukraine's energy sector and at sea. Former Ukrainian ambassador to Washington Valeriy Chaly considered a Ukraine-US-Russia leaders' meeting unrealistic.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on whether the Trump administration has a unified position on pursuing separate deals with Russia before the war ends. The reporting states there is no unified US administration position and notes that some officials believe economic incentives for Moscow to end the war could reduce Washington's leverage to pressure the Kremlin.
Background
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in early September and discussed alternative paths to advance negotiations. At that meeting Putin told the envoys Russian troops would within months seize the entire Ukrainian Donbas, while Russia was simultaneously preparing strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. During the meeting, Jared Kushner told Putin that Putin had said the same thing a year earlier and asked whether there was a chance they would return in a year and hear the same thing again. Ukraine's president hoped to meet Trump on the sidelines of UN General Assembly events in New York in late September.