US presidential envoys and confidants Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly see great investment opportunities in the country
US President Donald Trump’s envoys in negotiations with Moscow, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, see Russia as an “El Dorado” with vast natural resources and rich investment opportunities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with their thinking.
Both believe that lifting sanctions and reintegrating Russia back into the world economy could make money for US investors and smooth out its relations with Ukraine and Europe, the newspaper wrote.
The West imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, which Moscow maintains have only served to strengthen the Russian economy.
US firms could return to Russia after a peace deal with Ukraine is reached, Witkoff has stated.
Trump has expressed interest in joint projects with Moscow, as well as in Russian rare earth minerals, which have emerged as a key bone of contention in his on-and-off trade war with China this year. President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated willingness to collaborate with the US regarding Russia’s rare earth deposits.
Joint US-Russian ventures have also figured in Trump’s peace push centered around his roadmap for Ukraine.
One of its initial clauses reportedly suggested unfreezing the hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian assets frozen in the West and partly investing them into joint US-Russian projects, with Washington taking half the profits.
According to an early draft published by the media, another point of Trump’s peace plan proposed joint ownership of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which Russian forces have held since 2022.
In the course of the ongoing shuttle diplomacy talks, Witkoff and Kushner have shown interest in shared US control of the plant and in using it to mine cryptocurrency, Putin said on Thursday.
While the Kremlin has largely kept its cards close to its chest regarding the talks, Witkoff has called the latest round of talks “productive and constructive.”
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