Trump faces a new crisis with Kyiv after the agreement on Russian diesel

Trump's new diplomatic crisis over Ukraine erupted on Friday at Steve Witkoff's exclusive golf club, Shell Bay, on the outskirts of Miami. Senior Ukrainian and European officials had traveled there to hold talks with Trump's peace envoys, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. They planned to discuss updated proposals to end the war in Ukraine before a new trip to Russia.

But both soon made an announcement that left their interlocutors and much of the world stunned. The Americans communicated that the United States would suspend sanctions on Russian diesel. They also conveyed a firm request from Trump: that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refineries.

One of the Ukrainians asked what they would get in return. According to three eyewitnesses, the Americans replied that the US was already doing a lot for Ukraine, and that they should not have to negotiate any further exchange for them to stop attacking the refineries. They then mentioned intelligence support, which is considered vital. Some of those present interpreted the response as a veiled threat. A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied that a withdrawal of this support had been implied. However, he stated that Trump was so angry with Ukraine that it was difficult to know what he would do.

Now the dispute has become the most serious crisis between Washington and Kyiv since theoutbreak of tension in the Oval Office with the Ukrainian president last year. The future of US support for Ukraine is once again at stake. The escalation of recriminations has highlighted how Trump's efforts to lower energy prices before next month's midterm legislative elections threaten to destabilize the fragile negotiations over Ukraine.

For Ukrainians and their European allies, attacks on Russian refineries are Kyiv's most effective way of responding to Russian bombings against Ukraine's energy grid. Zelensky has stated that he is willing to stop attacking energy infrastructure if Russia does the same.

But Russia has refused. Despite this, Trump considers the Ukrainian attacks an offense against an administration that has continued to provide intelligence and some military support to Ukraine, despite the harsh statements by the American president against Zelensky. Diesel prices, in particular, have become a headache for Trump, because they increase the costs for farmers just as the harvest season begins and there are only a few weeks left until the midterm elections.

"He better stop once and for all," Trump told reporters on Saturday, referring to Zelensky and the Ukrainian attacks against Russian refineries, ignoring the Russian bombings against the Ukrainian energy grid. "He wants to create problems for the world. He wants to create problems for our farmers and ranchers." Export statistics indicate that the rise in diesel and energy prices is mainly due to Trump's war against Iran, although the Ukrainian attacks against Russia have contributed to it.

On Sunday, Trump claimed on social media that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an "energy ceasefire" with immediate effect. Neither side confirmed the agreement. "They agreed to it because I said they agreed to it," Trump stated on Monday at the White House. He also reiterated his frustration with Zelensky. "I think Putin is more eager to reach an agreement than Zelensky," said the president.

On Monday, European and Ukrainian leaders suggested they would be willing to accept an energy truce, but expressed doubts about whether Russia would respect it. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted that Moscow had attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Sunday night, "a few hours after" the announcement.

Six hours of talks

Friday's meeting at Witkoff's golf club lasted about six hours, largely dedicated to exploring what conditions could make future peace negotiations possible. Among the issues discussed were, for example, Ukraine's accession to the European Union and territorial control.

At one point, Witkoff left the room to participate in a call between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Trump, according to one of the people present at the meeting. In addition to the Ukrainian negotiating team, national security advisors from the United Kingdom, Germany, and France also participated, as well as senior officials from the European Union and NATO.

But the agreement between Trump and Putin regarding diesel quickly overshadowed the rest of the conversations. On Friday, Zelenskyy described the agreement to allow imports of Russian diesel to lower prices as a "weak decision." As the dispute intensified, Trump stated on Saturday that Ukraine needed "a new president."

Several European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, publicly expressed their support for Zelenskyy. Members of the U.S. Congress criticized the diesel deal because, according to them, it helps fund the Russian war machine.

"The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians," a bipartisan group of six senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and John Curtis of Utah, said in a statement on Sunday. "The administration must rectify this immediately."

Björn Seibert, a senior EU official who attended Friday's meeting in Florida, briefed the ambassadors of the 27 member states on the meeting on Sunday. The ambassadors were stunned. One of the main conclusions of the meeting in Florida, Seibert explained to them, was that the Americans were maintaining more contacts with the Russians than they were publicly acknowledging.

The Trump administration argues that the agreements with Putin, in addition to contributing to lower energy prices, would facilitate an agreement in Ukraine because they would demonstrate to Russia that it can return to the global economy if it agrees to make concessions in the conflict.

© The New York Times