Why business agreements with the US will not force Putin to make concessions -. The New York Times. Part 1/2 Analysts say the Russian president has shown a willingness to make significant sacrifices to get his way in Ukraine and sees little reason to stop fighting now. For a year and a half, when the United States held repeated peace talks with Russia, the Trump administration avoided entering into any business agreement with Moscow, insisting that the Kremlin first take concrete steps to end the war in Ukraine. But this fall everything changed.
US officials have argued that the impact of potential business activity could bolster goodwill and encourage the Kremlin to end hostilities. However, these incentives have had little effect on President Putin's core demands for war, which include limiting Ukraine's defense capabilities and alliances and fundamentally changing Europe's security architecture.
These demands are at the center of the peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials held today and tomorrow by Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the United Arab Emirates.
However, analysts say it will take much more than just deals to convince Putin to compromise. "It will not encourage him to compromise on Ukraine," said Eric Green, who served as senior director for Russia at the US National Security Council under President Joe Biden.
Witkoff and Kushner, both real estate investors, conducted deals with Russian oligarchs. Green noted that the two likely entered the negotiations thinking, "These guys and I have a common language. They are interested in money. If we offer them different deals, it will convince them to compromise on Ukraine."