The Financial Times reports the U.S. and Russia are discussing a Sakhalin venture, Druzhba pipeline deliveries and other energy deals tied to a Ukraine settlement, though U.S. officials say nothing proceeds until the war ends.
This development is incredibly important since it could set into motion a sequence of US-mediated events for alleviating military-security tensions between E-NATO and Russia.
The sequence of Trump-mediated Nawrocki-Putin talks (whether in person or on the phone), the creation of a crisis-control channel between them, and the initial goal of mutual military pullbacks from the border could stabilize the post-war European security architecture.
Putin will always do whatever he believes is in Russia’s best interests given the circumstances even if it’s compromising on his maximum goals and cutting deals with rivals.
Trump signed an executive order waiving sanctions on Russian diesel two days before they were set to take effect.
Britain is building its next case for confrontation with Russia, and the evidence is a fleet of fishing boats. The tracking data shows no damage and no proof of what the boats carried.
Although Putin might agree to some trade-offs in Ukraine as the quid pro quo for these deals, it is not guaranteed, but they can still be clinched so long as Trump has the will to waive more sanctions without a ceasefire first.
Anti-corruption investigators searched the National Bank of Ukraine on October 21. CDM and Tsarizm were reporting on central bank corruption in 2019.