USA are considering providing Russia incentive in the form of economic partnerships to end the Ukraine war
The spokesman for the Trump administration, Karoline Leavitt, holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, April 1, 2025. Photo: Chris Kleponis / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The White House announces the possibility of an economic partnership with Russia, shortly after Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy in Russia, met with Vladimir Putin, at St. Petersburg.
“There is an incentive for Russia to put an end to this war and this may be the economic partnerships with the United States,” Karoline Leavitt's press secretary said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
According to her, the meeting between the two “was productive” and that “Witkoff believes that Russia wants to end this war and the US president also believes this.”
The day before, Witkoff told Fox News that his discussions with Putin focused on a possible peace agreement based on the status of “five territories”.
Although Witkoff did not call the territories directly, he seemed to refer to Crimea, the peninsula illegally attached by Russia in 2014, and to the partially occupied Ukrainian regions – Donetk, Luhansk, Zaporojie and Herson – following the invasion. Moscow annexed the four regions in 2022.
Also, the US emissary alluded to a wider strategic ambition related to business incentives. “I see a possibility of remodeling the relationship between Russia and the United States through very convincing commercial opportunities,” Witkoff said. “This provides real stability to the region,” he said.
President Donald Trump has always promised to stop the Russian-Ukrainian war, but has not been able to get anything outside a 30-day armistice in terms of energy infrastructure that Russia and Ukraine have committed to respect, but accuse each other of violating understanding.
