Secret business negotiations between Russia and the USA

From the Dialog, Nov 30, 2025:

"Plan Without Peace: Putin's Friends Have Begun Secret Business Talks with the US - WSJ

Dictator Vladimir Putin's inner circle, in the midst of war, is conducting secret talks with the United States about joint business projects in Russia. 

The Kremlin is conducting highly active, secret talks with US officials. They are focused not on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war, but on joint business projects, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. 

According to sources, the private US-Russian meeting in Miami discussed not only ending the war but also a radically new model of cooperation – joint US-Russian economic projects that could pave the way for Moscow to reenter the global economy. The discussion focused on US access to frozen Russian assets, multibillion-dollar investments, and raw material extraction in the Arctic. 

Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund and now the Kremlin's key negotiator, was at the center of the negotiations. According to the newspaper, he presented the Americans with a plan to utilize the Russian Central Bank's frozen state assets in the West.  

It was envisaged that American corporations would be able to use these funds for joint projects with Russia and, possibly, participate in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.  

Another point under discussion concerned the development of Arctic resources and even a potential joint mission to Mars through Elon Musk's SpaceX. 

The Kremlin's strategy, according to the publication, originated before Trump took office and was aimed at circumventing traditional US security structures. By offering lucrative contracts in energy and rare earth metals mining, Moscow attempted to shift the perception of Russia as a military threat and present it as an economic opportunity. According to sources, the position was that business interests could overshadow geopolitics.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the key intermediaries in these contacts were entrepreneur Steve Witkoff and the US president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Witkoff, describing the desired outcome, said that Russia, Ukraine, and the US could become partners, arguing that prosperity itself could reduce the likelihood of future wars. He explained that "if everyone is involved in shared growth and profits, that will become a natural barrier to new conflicts."

However, the leak of the draft provoked a sharp reaction in Europe and Kyiv. Politicians saw the document as a near-complete set of Russian approaches that cross Ukrainian "red lines." European countries fear that Moscow could reap commercial benefits despite armed aggression and the forcible redrawing of borders. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk characterized the situation as "not about peace, but about business."

The White House views the possibility of economic agreements as a tool for stabilization. Sources close to the White House, cited by The Wall Street Journal, claim that the president's inner circle sees an opportunity for American companies to gain advantageous positions in post-war Russia. In conversations, Russian business representatives openly stated that they would prefer a partnership with the US over Europe, where the peace plan has been criticized.

The article notes that the negotiations offer enormous opportunities: the resumption of Arctic projects, gas production, and the purchase of Nord Stream 2 were discussed, while oil giants, including ExxonMobil, consulted on a possible return to Sakhalin projects. According to European intelligence agencies, business groups close to Putin are holding informal talks on rare earth metal production in Siberia and on the Arctic shelf..."