The U.S. Wants to Persuade Putin to End the War by Easing Sanctions on Diesel Fuel, According to Axios
The U.S. hopes that easing sanctions on Russian diesel fuel and other steps taken by the U.S. administration will prompt Vladimir Putin to compromise on ending the war against Ukraine. At the same time, it is currently unclear whether these decisions will influence the Kremlin’s position.
On Wednesday, October 21, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. According to a U.S. official, Witkoff will present him with an updated proposal to end the war in Ukraine.
Jared Kushner—son-in-law and advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump—will also join the negotiations via videoconference.
Washington hopes that, following the U.S. administration’s latest decisions, Moscow will be more inclined to seek a compromise. Specifically, this refers to the easing of sanctions restrictions on the sale of Russian diesel fuel and other measures that have been positively received in Russia.
However, there is no confirmation yet that these steps will actually change Putin’s approach to negotiations on ending the war.
Steve Witkoff’s trip to Russia was preceded by talks in Oslo, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. representatives and European partners.
The leaders of Norway and Finland joined the discussions, as did representatives from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the European Union, and NATO.
The main topic of the meetings was the preparation of a joint proposal for a framework agreement to end the war. According to a U.S. official, the Ukrainian side presented new ideas, which the negotiators discussed in detail.
The U.S. representative stated that significant progress had been made and that there was consensus at the working level regarding next steps. However, this does not mean that the parties have already agreed on all the terms of a future agreement.
Washington hopes that the proposal will help move toward direct trilateral negotiations involving Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia, and eventually toward a broader international dialogue.
As a reminder, on October 20, talks took place in Oslo involving Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as American and European delegations. The meetings were part of diplomatic efforts aimed at finding ways to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
This was reported by Axios.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg on October 21 for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. According to Ukrainian and U.S. officials, prior to the meeting in Norway, the U.S. and Ukraine agreed on a series of proposals to end the war, including security guarantees for Kyiv.
It should be noted that the Trump administration plans to change the format of the negotiations regarding Ukraine.
As a reminder, Witkoff will travel to St. Petersburg after meeting with Zelenskyy.
Prior to this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Special Presidential Representative Steve Witkoff began talks in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
