WSJ: Putin's Envoy Secretly 'seduced' Trump Team
4- 30.11.2025, 8:59
- 24,104
European intelligence agencies were shocked.
Russian representative Kirill Dmitriev, during talks with the United States on ending the war against Ukraine, tried to convince the Americans of the benefits of potential bilateral cooperation. American negotiators were interested. This writes The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, Dmitriev held a series of talks with Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Whitkoff, as well as with the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. During these talks, he tried to convince the Trump team of the benefits of closer cooperation with Russia, offering them extremely favorable, at first glance, terms of "new friendship."
"Peace Plan" and Dmitriev's proposals
The WSJ reports that discussions during the meetings, particularly in Miami in October, went far beyond the war in Ukraine. Dmitriev is reported to have largely shaped the first draft of a 28-point "peace plan" that put forward Moscow's demands for the surrender of Ukrainian territories and Kiev's rejection of NATO membership.
His main temptation was the idea of dividing up frozen Russian assets in Europe. The Kremlin spokesman suggested using the funds for "U.S.-Russian investment projects and the U.S.-led reconstruction of Ukraine."
That is, Russia, which started the war, would get a chance to earn money from "joint projects," which caused a shock in Europe. At the same time, proposals for joint energy projects in the Arctic, infrastructure programs and even participation in a space mission to Mars through SpaceX were on the table.
The Kremlin's strategy
Western intelligence sources suggest that Dmitriev was acting on a premeditated Kremlin strategy - to present Russia to Trump not as an adversary but as a country of great opportunity. This approach seems to have resonated with Kushner and Whitkoff, who are businessmen and share Trump's views that "borders are less important than business."
Steve Whitkoff echoed these sentiments, saying that "Russia has vast resources and vast territories" and that joint success "would naturally be a safeguard against new conflicts." At the same time, Dmitriev assured Americans that Moscow is more willing to cooperate with the United States than with Europe because European leaders have "said a lot of nonsense" about the prospects for peace.
"The question for history remains whether Putin took this approach in the interest of ending the war, or as a stunt to flirt with the U.S., meanwhile prolonging the conflict - which he believes he will slowly but inevitably win," the publication's authors note.
Does the Kremlin really want peace
Some of the publication's sources suggest that there was some interest in ending the war after all. Several under-sanctioned Russian oligarchs were secretly sending representatives to U.S. businesses to negotiate possible projects in energy and rare earth metals mining, including the idea of launching Nord Streams.
It is also mentioned that before the sanctions were imposed, Exxon Mobil was discussing with Rosneft the possibility of resuming cooperation on Sakhalin if there was political authorization to do so. The article emphasizes that there is no evidence that Whitkoff, Kushner or the White House were aware of informal contacts between Russian oligarchs and American businesses.
What is Europe's reaction
European intelligence agencies were shocked, according to the WSJ. Before Trump met with Putin in Alaska in August, they prepared reports for several European governments outlining the economic plans that Trump and Russian representatives had discussed between them. They were particularly surprised by the idea of joint mining of minerals in the Arctic.
Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims
You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com
