At the center of President Trump’s contentious plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is not peace: it is profit.
Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are negotiating with Russian officials to ensure that US businesses—and Trump’s cronies—are in a position to make a killing once the war ends, according to an exhaustive Wall Street Journal report published Friday.
“Russia has so many vast resources, huge tracts of land,” said Witkoff, who last week was hired to coach the Russians on how best to arm the president, told The Wall Street Journal.
Witkoff spoke to the paper about a future where Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are all business partners.
“If we do all that, and everyone is succeeding and they’re all part of it, and there’s upside for everyone, that will naturally be a bulwark against future conflicts there. Because everyone is thriving,” said Witkoff.
For Witkoff, Kushner, and the Russians, the goal is reportedly to revitalize Russia’s $2 trillion economy through joint ventures between Russia and the United States. At the center of the talks is $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets that Russia wants to give to US businesses for US-led Ukraine investment and reconstruction projects.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has been brokering lucrative ventures between Russia and the United States, such as exploiting Arctic mineral resources and joining SpaceX on a joint mission to Mars.
The money from such projects goes to Trump’s friends and megadonors. Gentry Beach, founder of the investment firm America First Global, a college friend of Donald Trump Jr. and a donor to Donald Trump’s campaign, is in talks to acquire a stake in a Russian Arctic gas project if it is freed from sanctions, according to The Journal.
Trump megadonator Stephen P. Lynch has been working with Trump Jr. to buy the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which supplies vital gas to Europe from Russia.
By coordinating with the United States on profitable business ventures, Russia believes it can become an economic powerhouse in Europe while driving a wedge between the United States and its traditional European allies.
Europe balked at President Trump’s 28-point peace plan—which Witkoff drafted based on a Russian plan—arguing that it was too generous with Russia. The deal had Ukraine cede territory and reduce its military capacity, effectively undermining the nation’s sovereignty. The plan was not popular in America either, as it received a significant push from the GOP.
Europe responded with its own peace plan that amended Trump’s. The new plan makes territorial concessions a point of post-ceasefire talks and raises the bar on Ukraine’s military so the country can still defend itself effectively. Negotiations are still ongoing.