Donald Trump's negotiators' peace talks with Russia are fueled by hopes of opening the Russian economy to American investors, according to the Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper, the offers allegedly made by the Russians amount to a form of business enticement. Moreover, it's a conscious strategy by Moscow. Critical comments have emerged since the Wall Street Journal's publication.
The US Wants to Do Business with Russia? Media Covers Trade Plans
"Privately, they were charting a path to pull Russia's $2 trillion economy out of crisis - and American companies would be the first to overtake European competitors in the fight for dividends," the newspaper writes.
"By luring it with multi-billion dollar contracts for rare earth metals and energy, Moscow could change the economic map of Europe – simultaneously driving a wedge between America and its traditional allies," he adds. For the Kremlin, it would also be a way to bypass traditional diplomatic channels and concentrate talks within a narrow circle of Trump's business advisors.
In this context, the newspaper quotes the words of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during talks with Western leaders about the US peace plan. - We know this is not about peace. This is about business - the newspaper quotes Tusk.
"Inside were details of trade and economic plans h that the Trump administration was making with Russia, including joint mining of rare earth elements in the Arctic," we read.
US businessmen"believed in the vision spread by the Kremlin"
In addition to some administration officials, European officials were also omitted in the context of the talks. The WSJ cites a situation in which Witkoff refused to talk to them via a secure link, claiming that he travels too often to use the inconvenient system.
As"WSJ" points out, Witkoff, Kushner, and a number of American businessmen believed in the vision spread by the Kremlin.
"Russia has so many enormous resources, vast tracts of land," Witkoff told the newspaper, describing his hopes for Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. to become business partners."If we do all this, and everyone prospers and is part of it, and everyone benefits from it, then naturally it will become a bulwark against future conflicts. Because everyone will prosper," he explained.
"WSJ" also describes a situation when, after Trump's refusal to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, Witkoff advised Kyiv to apply for a 10-year tariff exemption instead of the missiles, because this would give a boost to the Ukrainian economy.
"I'm in the deal-making business. That's why I'm here," the Trump envoy said.
The newspaper describes efforts by a number of American companies and businessmen to prepare for a return to Russia. Oligarchs close to Putin, including Gennady Timchenko, Yuri Kovalchuk, and the brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, were reportedly sending representatives to meetings with American businesses about mineral extraction in Russia.
According to a Western security official quoted by the newspaper, they offered licenses for gas extraction in the Sea of Okhotsk and in four other locations, as well as rare earth metal extraction near Norilsk and in Siberia.
A potential buyer for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is Trump campaign donor investor Stephen Lynch, who paid $600,000 to a lobbyist associated with the president's son, Donald Jr., to obtain a license for the deal. Another acquaintance of Donald Jr., a Gentry Beach businessman, is said to be in talks to buy a stake in a gas extraction project in the Russian Arctic.
In turn, the deputy director of the ExxonMobil concern was supposedly negotiating with Rosneft's boss Igor Sechin in Qatar about returning to investment in the large Sakhalin 2 project. This project was suspended due to sanctions imposed in 2022. ExxonMobil, investor Todd Boehly and others were also reportedly discussing the purchase of assets of sanctioned Lukoil.
According to the newspaper, there is no evidence that these businessmen coordinated their actions with Trump's team. Nevertheless, the WSJ article sparked sharp and critical comments from supporters of a hard line towards Russia.
"Today's 'WSJ'. Multi-billion dollar business deals between Russian and American billionaires that force Ukraine to give Russia more land, to make Ukraine a Russian vassal," assessed Republican Congressman Don Bacon on the X platform." Greed put before Ukrainian sovereignty. Churchill and Reagan are turning in their graves," he added.
