In a bid to resolve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Donald Trump is reportedly keen on striking business deals with Vladimir Putin, aiming to channel substantial financial resources from Russia into the United States.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s team—comprising his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff—has been actively negotiating with Russian officials on revitalizing Russia’s $2 trillion economy.
Witkoff reportedly held a meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, a key negotiator appointed by Putin, and Kushner at a luxurious Miami Beach estate. During this gathering, they crafted a strategy to not only end the war but also ensure American businesses capitalize on opportunities ahead of European competitors once peace is restored.
Dmitriev is believed to have advocated for the release of $300 billion, currently frozen in Russian central bank assets across Europe, to fund joint US-Russian investment initiatives and spearhead a “US-led reconstruction” effort in Ukraine.
Additionally, discussions reportedly included a potential collaboration between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Russia on a mission to Mars, marking a significant departure from the competitive space race era of the past century.
The report suggests that Russia’s goal is to persuade the Trump administration that the nation represents a “land of opportunity” rather than a security threat.
The Kremlin reportedly hopes to ‘reshape the economic map of Europe’, while also creating friction between the US and its allies on the continent and beyond, potentially giving Putin the last laugh in negotiations.
‘Russia has so many vast resources, vast expanses of land,’ Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal.
President Donald Trump’s alternative peace plan could be a massive investment deal with Russia valued at $300 billion
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff have been heavily invovled in the negotiations
‘If we do all that, and everybody’s prospering and they’re all a part of it, and there’s upside for everybody, that’s going to naturally be a bulwark against future conflicts there. Because everybody’s thriving.’
Presidential advisors see post-war Russia as an opportunity for American investors, according to the WSJ.
‘It’s Trump’s “Art of the Deal” to say, “Look, I’m settling this thing and there’s huge economic benefits for doing that for America, right?”‘ one of them reportedly said.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
This comes after Trump’s 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine was leaked to the media last week. It was widely panned by European countries as being too friendly to Russia.
It would allow Russia to keep occupied territory in Ukraine – Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk – while also getting Ukrainian land that its soldiers don’t occupy.
The agreement freezes the front lines of the conflict at the Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhia, which would allow Russia to effectively hold onto nearby Mariupol and have a direct line into the Crimean Peninsula.
Another key point is that Ukraine will forever be barred from NATO, the military alliance that Russia has long wanted to keep a buffer between.
Sanctions on Russia would also be lifted and the country would be ”reintegrated into the global economy’.
In exchange, Ukraine would receive looser security guarantees from the US and NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to stop engaging in bombing campaigns in Ukraine after he asked them to stop.
Trump was frustrated with Zelensky earlier on in his first year in office. He got called into the White House only to get a verbal dressing down by Trump
Witkoff reportedly hosted Kirill Dmitriev – Putin’s ‘handpicked’ negotiator – and Kushner at a waterfront Miami Beach estate. Miami’s waterfront is pictured (file image)
Another draft agreement says NATO would treat any attack on Ukraine as an attack on the entire ‘transatlantic community’, according to Axios.
Ukraine has repeatedly ruled out handing over land to Russia, but Zelensky has signaled to his citizens that he likely won’t be able to get everything he wants.
‘Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest,’ he said in a recorded speech. ‘Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.’
He said he would ‘work calmly’ with the US and all other partners in the peace process.
The war in Ukraine has become a multi-year conflict, beginning when Russia invaded in February 2022. Many experts say the war actually began in 2014, when Russia formally annexed Crimea, which had been part of an independent Ukraine since 1991.
As Trump campaigned for president last year, he repeatedly claimed he would end the war that had been raging for much of President Joe Biden’s term on ‘day one’.
It has proved more complicated than that, with both sides being fairly dug in and maintaining their diametrically opposed demands.
Trump was frustrated with Zelensky earlier on in his first year in office. He got called into the White House only to get a verbal dressing down by Trump.
Later, Putin declined to stop engaging in bombing campaigns after he asked them to stop.
