Kateryna Chornovol21:41, 06.03.25

In parallel with their demands on Ukraine, American officials are negotiating with Russia.

US President Donald Trump wants to link a proposed US-Ukrainian mining agreement to demands for Kiev to quickly cease fire, Bloomberg reports, citing sources .

Washington has made it clear that Trump is ready to complete work on the agreement on natural resources, provided that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to a “real path to a truce and negotiations with Moscow,” the publication’s sources say. And the new – additional – conditions are the reason that the agreement has not yet been signed, despite public statements by the US and Ukrainian leadership about their readiness to do so.

Movement on the agreement could happen in the coming days. Ukrainian and U.S. officials could meet in Saudi Arabia, where Zelensky is scheduled to travel next week. Other sources told the journalists that the U.S. position could always change, since Trump “often changes his mind.”

At the same time, it is emphasized that there is no sign that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is ready to agree to a cessation of hostilities. There are also no signs that the United States is pushing Moscow to compromise, and this is in sharp contrast to the demands made to Kyiv. The publication reminds that any ceasefire will require agreement to end hostilities from both Russia and Ukraine.

“The United States has put intense pressure on Zelensky in recent days, suspending all military aid and halting intelligence activities in what European officials say is an effort to persuade the Ukrainian prime minister to take a path consistent with Trump’s goals,” the report says.

There are few precedents for such a move, and current and former U.S. and European officials say it could hurt transatlantic relations. A European intelligence official says information sharing between allies is often tied to protecting lives. The practice is generally viewed as non-political and not used “as a weapon.”

Kyiv relies on allied intelligence for everything from early warning of Russian air attacks and ground operations to the detection of military targets. Some capabilities provided to Ukraine by its allies, including British cruise missiles, also rely on American intelligence.

In parallel to their demands on Ukraine, American officials are negotiating with Russia, although it is unclear whether Moscow is being pressured to come to the negotiating table.

The newspaper’s sources in Europe say Putin’s ultimate goal of seizing Ukraine has not changed. They say the Russian president cannot be trusted. Some European officials fear that Trump’s push for a quick ceasefire without security guarantees risks forcing a bad deal on Kyiv, undermining the continent’s security.

Those same officials are skeptical that Putin will agree to Western peacekeepers in Ukraine, saying that if Moscow sticks to that position in any negotiations, it will become clear to Trump that Putin is the one unwilling to compromise.

The biggest fear in this scenario is that Trump will simply walk away, leaving behind a fragile truce that is unlikely to hold.

(C)UNIAN 2025