Trump's Peace Plan Was Actually Created by Three People in Miami Beach - FT 0 54

Last month, a closed meeting took place in Miami Beach that could significantly change Washington's approach to Russia's war against Ukraine. The participants of the secret negotiations included Donald Trump's special representative Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and one of Vladimir Putin's key emissaries, Kirill Dmitriev, writes the Financial Times.

They gathered to discuss a possible plan to end the war. However, according to Western sources, the real goal was much broader.

According to sources, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund and a trusted person of Putin, presented Americans with a large-scale plan for the recovery of the Russian economy worth $2 trillion. At its core are private American-Russian projects, access to Arctic wealth, and the use of about $300 billion in frozen Russian assets in Europe. His idea was that these funds could serve as an investment foundation, including for the "reconstruction of Ukraine under U.S. guidance."

Joining Witkoff and Dmitriev at the meeting was Jared Kushner, owner of the investment fund Affinity Partners and son-in-law of the U.S. president. He, along with Witkoff, was supposed to ensure that American businesses had an advantage over European ones in future Russian and Arctic projects.

Dmitriev's plan also included more ambitious proposals: joint American-Russian developments in space technologies, including a mission to Mars in partnership with SpaceX. The Kremlin's idea was that this would help convince Washington to view Russia not as a threat but as an economic opportunity - an approach that Moscow had been promoting even before Donald Trump's inauguration.

"It's About Business"

The Kremlin is trying to use business interests to change geopolitics: multi-billion dollar deals in energy and rare earth metal extraction could reshape the map of Europe and weaken U.S. ties with European allies.

A sign of the seriousness of intentions was the meetings of representatives from Putin's inner circle - Timchenko, Kovalchuk, and the Rotenberg brothers - with American companies. The negotiations even discussed a possible "revival" of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, despite its sabotage and EU sanctions.

In the West, such initiatives are viewed with extreme caution. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk succinctly characterized the essence of the process:

"We know that this is not about peace. It’s about business."

Trump's Peace Plan - Latest News

As reported by UNIAN, the U.S. is ready to recognize Russia's claims to Crimea and Donbas, which it has occupied by force. However, even such a "generous gift" may not be enough to persuade Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war, writes The Telegraph.

At the same time, journalist Jamie Dettmer noted that the U.S. "peace plan," which largely requires concessions to Russia, may be the maximum that Ukraine can hope for.