The US hopes diesel deal with Russia will ‘soften’ Kremlin’s position in negotiations

Washington hopes that an agreement to open the American market to Russian diesel fuel will help bring Moscow back to negotiations on Ukraine.

Reuters reports this, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the Miami meeting.

On Friday, representatives of US President Donald Trump held a meeting with Ukrainian officials that lasted several hours. American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told the Ukrainian side that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ready to negotiate an end to the war, and that the diesel fuel agreement announced last week could help restart trilateral peace talks.

According to a third source, the White House explained to Bankova that the diesel fuel deal with Russia could help “soften” the Kremlin’s position — in part because it “sends a signal that Trump is willing to cooperate” with Russia.

“The idea was that the US could go back to Russia and say: ‘Look, the Ukrainians have stopped their strikes, and we’ve offered you this deal. Now it’s your turn to do something,'” the outlet quotes.

One of the sources familiar with the meeting noted that the diesel fuel agreement is just one part of a broader discussion about how to bring Kyiv and Moscow back to the negotiating table. The meeting also touched on the question of security guarantees for Ukraine, though the source declined to go into detail.

Ukrainian officials present at the meeting were skeptical of the American approach, which in their view amounts to using business deals to appease Russia. This was reported by two sources familiar with the situation and one meeting participant. At the same time, two sources and the meeting participant clarified that the Americans did not threaten to halt support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces if Ukraine refused to stop striking Russian oil refineries.

A source close to the Kremlin stated that Putin will return to the negotiating table only when he “receives the remaining 11% of Donbas territory, which he can present domestically as a victory.” Ukraine has said it will not cede territory to Russia, though freezing the conflict along the current front line could form the basis of a peace agreement.

Part of the Miami meeting was devoted to funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction and the need for Kyiv to formally draw up plans for investment in the country. The Ukrainians left the meeting without giving official consent to any of the proposals, but indicated they were prepared to agree to an “energy ceasefire” if Russia did the same.

According to Western media reports, Trump is considering an energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv as a mutual halt to strikes on oil refineries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opposed this format, stating that Kyiv would only agree to a ceasefire that includes a halt to strikes on critical infrastructure facilities.