The Kremlin is courting US President Donald Trump and his inner circle with economic deals before the war against Ukraine ends, while proposals presented to Ukrainian officials in Florida on Friday, Oct. 9, reportedly raised concerns in Kyiv.
According to Le Monde, which cited a diplomat based in Moscow, Russia is seeking to advance business cooperation without first agreeing to a ceasefire.
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Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, is leading the effort, promoting potential deals in energy, civilian aviation, rare earth metals, artificial intelligence, and technology.
The newspaper reported that a ceasefire had previously been treated as a prerequisite for restoring US-Russian economic relations, but that condition has now appeared to have been effectively dropped.
Energy proposal raises concerns in Kyiv
During the Florida talks, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff presented Ukrainian negotiators with a postwar “regional prosperity plan” involving Ukraine, Europe, and Russia, according to the report.
The proposal envisaged fully restoring supplies of Russian oil and gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian delegates were concerned by similarities between the American proposals and Dmitriev’s ideas for economic cooperation with Russia, the newspaper said.
In a separate report published on Thursday, Oct. 22, Le Monde described Dmitriev’s efforts to attract businessmen close to Trump with energy and Arctic investments.
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Speaking at a Moscow forum on Oct. 16, Dmitriev promoted “projects in the Arctic, energy projects, LNG projects, and many other things,” the newspaper stated.
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