Trump Moving on Path to Normalize Relations with Russia, Regardless of Ukraine Talks

Feb. 22—Two days ago, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's powerful sovereign wealth fund and the personal envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told TASS, the official government news agency, that a report appearing in The Economist that he was offering the United States $14 trillion in trade and development deals, in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and allowing Russian participation in the dollar payments portal, was false and "fake news."

Knowledgeable observers greeted the remarks by Dmitriev with some "raised eyebrows" since it is widely known that he has been discussing with the Americans just such trade and development deals since the Alaska summit between Putin and President Donald Trump last August. These observers noted that Dmitriev did not deny the proposals, only the linkages to the sanctions, as similar linkages to the outcome of discussions on ending the war in Ukraine had also been denied.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had last week confirmed the existence of such proposals for discussion with American leaders and businessmen, while also pointing out that Russia has always made clear its willingness to participate in dollar-based trade, only to be excluded by sanctions.

Zelenskyy’s Claims and White House Silence

The White House has refused any comment on the matter, when it was brought up in relation to reports published by Bloomberg News, The Kyiv Independent, and statements made by Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who claimed to be in possession of a "secret" memo detailing the proposals. Sources close to the White House say that proposals, which Zelenskyy dubbed "the Dmitriev package," have been discussed with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

In fact, the White House may have requested the denial, as the press reports have been used by Zelenskyy and his NATO sponsors to claim to the media that Trump was selling out the Ukraine for "Russian rubles." Zelenskyy claimed that the deals were the reason that he was being put under pressure from Trump and Witkoff to grant land concessions in Donbass.

The reality is something far different and more important, several sources report. Trump is now working on a two-track strategy for dealing with Russia.

Track One: Ukraine Negotiations and Zelenskyy’s Resistance

On one hand, he continues for the time being to seek a negotiated settlement to NATO's war against Russia in Ukraine. At this point, both he and Witkoff have concluded that no such settlement is possible unless Ukraine grants Russia the land concessions in Donbass that it demands. Zelenskyy has refused such concessions, with backing from the Euro-fools, such British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer, whose government is already over the edge of collapse because of the involvement of Starmer's political guru, the man who was appointed by him Ambassador to the United States, Lord Peter Mandelson, to pedophile deal enabler Jeffrey Epstein.

(Sources report that Zelenskyy may have his own Epstein problem. They say in the last year of his life, 2019,Epstein worked to have Zelenskyy elected Ukrainian president, which may have involved meetings with Epstein.)

Trump now strongly believes that it is Zelenskyy and his NATO backers who are preventing any progress in the negotiations, as was made clear this last week, when the Russians simply asked whether Ukraine was prepared to meet the demands for the territory in Donbass, which was refused.

Track Two: A Separate Path Toward U.S.–Russia Normalization

However, Trump is also pursuing, with Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, a second track that is intended to lead towards more normalized relations with Putin and Russia. The discussions with Dmitriev are part of this second track, where progress is being made. There are also discussions about collaboration in space, between NASA and Roscosmos, and well preliminary discussion about new arms control treaties, including about Putin's proposal to extend the recently expired New START treaty.

In the past, these matters would all in some way be linked to progress on ending the Ukraine war. Now, the sources report, they have been delinked. They say that if Ukraine and NATO refuse to make serious proposals that reflect both Ukraine's losing position on the battlefield and a desire to end the slaughter, then Trump will pull Witkoff from the discussions, and let Russia militarily crush what remains of Ukrainian forces, ending the war in a total defeat.

Trump’s Strategic Outlook and Plans for High-Level Diplomacy

Regardless, the sources say, Trump intends to stay engaged with Russia and Putin. "That is the only thing responsible to do," said a source. "These are the two greatest superpowers, after all." If it could be arranged, Trump would like to have a meeting between Putin and himself, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who Trump will meet in China in April, to discuss matters of importance facing the world. Trump has invited both Putin and Xi to join his Board of Peace; neither has accepted yet.