Trump ‘blindsided’ his own Ukraine peace envoys by agreeing diesel deal with Putin: report

The United States promised Ukraine extra post-war security guarantees just before Donald Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Russia for diesel exports and upended the negotiations, according to reports. Volodymyr Zelensky has been emphatic about the need for security assurances in any deal agreed with Vladimir Putin amid concerns that Moscow is already ignoring a supposed energy ceasefire announced by Trump earlier this week. During six-hour talks in Miami last weekend, special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner suggested that the president was willing to strengthen protections for Ukraine as part of a revised peace plan, according to The Telegraph. The “upgraded” guarantees were not specified in detail but the offer was reported to go further than the provision of jets to patrol Ukrainian skies and satellite intelligence support that was initially proposed. The talks were going well and the Ukrainians were reportedly “comfortable” with what was discussed, but they and the Europeans felt that Zelensky would be required to cede territory, according to a source. Jared Kushner, US president Donald Trump's son-in-law, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev (Reuters)However, the discussions were frustrated after Trump agreed to allow Putin to export diesel to the US and globally amid rising fuel costs worldwide.Top EU official Bjorn Seibert, who attended the meeting in Miami last week, said that the diesel agreement had shocked participants. He said they were left “surprised”, sources familiar with the meeting told the publication. The envoys reportedly told the Ukrainians that Putin was not ready for meaningful discussions and that the offer to buy Russian diesel was designed to “soften” Putin by allowing him to see the potential benefit of ending the war and reintegrating Russia into the global economy. A European diplomat told The Telegraph that the theory was “bullsh**”. All three parties left the meeting with no agreement.On Friday, Trump announced a deal with Putin allowing Moscow to supply diesel to global markets and that the US would import 300,000 tons of the fuel. He faced criticism from European leaders with the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas reminding Washington that “Russia has started this war. We should not forget this.”Zelensky said he did not believe that the deliveries would have an impact and suggested that “there are different rationales behind this decision”.Donald Trump agreed to buy Russian fuel amid rising fuel costs (Getty)Zelensky said Kyiv had not been informed beforehand of the announcement, saying: “No, we did not know about that. We’ve learned that from the media as well.”The Ukrainian leader suggested that the US should consider an arrangement with Kyiv, saying: “Why doesn't America then conclude a diesel deal with Ukraine? Let's propose a diesel deal with Ukraine.”Trump also accused Europe of being hypocritical as it had continued to purchase Russian fuel after the war began. According to a tracker led by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the European Union has paid approximately €238.6 billion to Russia for fossil fuels since 24 February 2022. However, the data shows a steep decline in EU imports since 2023.