Media: Russia still banking on Trump for Ukraine peace deal despite war readiness

Russia remains hopeful that US President Donald Trump can broker a peace agreement in Ukraine, although it is prepared to continue the conflict should negotiations collapse, sources in Moscow have said.

According to individuals familiar with Kremlin policy, Russian officials are unfazed by Trump’s warning of secondary sanctions on Russian oil due to a lack of progress towards a ceasefire, Caliber.Az reports per Bloomberg.

However, President Vladimir Putin sees Trump as his best opportunity to secure a favourable resolution and is keen to maintain diplomatic discussions.

Having pledged to swiftly end what he calls “Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two,” Trump recently expressed frustration at the pace of talks, saying he was “pissed off” with Putin. He later softened his stance, suggesting he still believed the Russian leader would “fulfil his part of the deal.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, responding to a request for comment, stated: “Everyone would prefer not to fight but to talk, and not only to talk but to be heard, which is what we have with the current American administration.”

Meanwhile, Putin’s economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, who is sanctioned by the US, confirmed he was holding talks in Washington with officials from Trump’s team. “Opponents of rapprochement fear that Russia and the US will find common ground, improve their understanding of one another, and strengthen cooperation in international affairs and the economy,” he said.

The Kremlin is hoping to extract further concessions from Washington, including sanctions relief and a halt to Western arms shipments to Ukraine. Last month’s US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia resulted in an agreement to pause attacks on Black Sea shipping, but Russia later made the deal contingent on reconnecting a major state bank to the SWIFT international payment system.

While Trump aides, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, had been optimistic about reaching a truce by 20 April, that deadline now appears unlikely to be met. Discussion of a possible Trump-Putin summit has also diminished in recent weeks.

On Monday, Russia announced its largest military draft in 14 years, calling up 160,000 conscripts. The Defence Ministry insisted they would not be sent to the front lines in Ukraine. This comes as both Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of violating a pause in strikes on energy infrastructure, which was agreed upon with Trump’s mediation.

Although Putin has indicated a willingness to negotiate, he has maintained that any deal must address what he calls the root causes of the war. His demands include Ukraine abandoning its NATO membership ambitions, accepting limits on its military, and recognising Russia’s territorial gains in the east and south since the February 2022 invasion.

Ukraine, its European allies, and the Biden administration view Russia’s terms as an attempt to subjugate its neighbour.

Trump, who made ending the war a key campaign pledge, has already shown willingness to meet some of Russia’s demands. However, fully accepting Putin’s conditions could leave him vulnerable to accusations of weakness.

Russia has hinted at potential business deals with the US, including joint ventures in the Arctic and cooperation on rare earth minerals. Trump is also pushing for an economic agreement that would give US investors significant influence over Ukraine’s infrastructure and natural resources.

Notably, Russia was not included in Trump’s latest round of tariff increases announced on Wednesday. However, Ukraine was subjected to a 10% tariff, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarifying that existing sanctions had already curtailed trade with Russia.

A bipartisan group of 50 US senators has proposed a fresh sanctions package, which would impose a 500% tariff on nations buying Russian energy if Putin refuses to engage in meaningful ceasefire negotiations or breaches a future agreement.

Yet, Russian officials remain defiant, insisting that they have withstood three years of economic restrictions and will not bow to further pressure.

“These sanctions will hurt other countries more than Russia,” said Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma’s financial market committee. “Nations reliant on our oil and gas, such as China and other developing economies in Asia, will feel the impact.”

While Moscow continues to make territorial gains in Ukraine, western analysts estimate that Russian forces are sustaining over 1,000 casualties per day.

The Kremlin remains open to diplomacy with Trump, holding out hope for a direct meeting between the two leaders to negotiate a temporary ceasefire. However, experts warn that Russia is prepared to keep fighting for as long as necessary.

Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre, wrote that Moscow’s objective is to strike a deal that halts the war in the short term while securing conditions that leave Ukraine permanently weakened. “Russia was prepared to keep fighting before Trump’s victory, and it remains so today,” he said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev