Witkoff and Kushner pitch Russia diesel deal to soften Moscow stance
A source close to the Kremlin said Putin would only negotiate after securing the remaining 11% of Donbas
Published
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told Ukrainian officials that a U.S.-Russia diesel deal, allowing Russia to export more than 2.25 million barrels, could soften Moscow's position and revive peace talks. The envoys also urged Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries.
The diesel pitch and the refinery request instead cast the exemption as leverage rather than a goodwill gesture, since Witkoff and Kushner told Kyiv directly that Putin remains unwilling to negotiate. The request to halt refinery strikes echoes a sequencing dispute that has already undercut Trump's Oct. 11 claim of an energy ceasefire, which Moscow never confirmed and which Zelenskiy called conditional on Russia also agreeing to it.
The gap between the inducements on offer from Washington and Russia's stated precondition on Donbas has not narrowed. For anyone pricing Russian crude or diesel flows, the diesel exemption is not evidence that a wider deal is close. It is a bargaining chip tied to a territorial demand Moscow has not dropped.