Knows how to win over Trump: Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the US President in Alaska.Image: keystone
There is said to be an attempt from the Kremlin to lure the USA with a mega deal. Ukrainian President Zelensky wants to know details.
02/08/2026, 05:4402/08/2026, 05:44
Thomas Wanhoff / t-online
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has offered the USA a deal worth twelve trillion US dollars. “It appears to be a package of economic cooperation between America and Russia,” he added in a conversation with Ukrainian journalists.
“So we are hearing about the possibility that such or similar bilateral documents could be signed between America and Russia.”
Zelenskyj claims to have received the information from his secret service. The offer is called the Dmitriyev package, named after the Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriyev. He is also the head of the Russian State Wealth Fund.
Kirill Dmitriev is one of Putin’s most influential advisers.Image: www.imago-images.de
The Russian negotiator is said to have presented the offer during his recent visit to Washington. A sum of twelve trillion dollars would be four times Russia’s gross national product. It is not known which specific deals are part of the pact. Zelensky did not provide any further information.
Sanctions lifting part of a deal?
US President Donald Trump has previously floated a possible lifting of sanctions and renewed economic cooperation with Russia as an incentive for Moscow to end the war against Ukraine. However, Putin has insisted that his original goals will continue to be pursued, particularly the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
Dmitriyev had worked with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on a 28-point plan that, among other things, envisaged slowly lifting sanctions and striving for long-term economic cooperation between Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskyj: Want to be part of agreements
Volodymyr Zelenskyj does not want to accept a solution that does not include Ukraine.Image: www.imago-images.de
In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that there had been meetings between US entrepreneurs and Russian oligarchs. It was about possible shares in mines and energy companies. Trump’s envoys Witkoff and Kushner both have entrepreneurial backgrounds and are successful businessmen.
Zelensky, on the other hand, is calling for more sanctions against Moscow. He and many European allies are counting on this to damage the Russian economy and bring Putin to the negotiating table. So far, however, there have been no signs from the Kremlin ruler that he is actually willing to negotiate peace. Nevertheless, exploratory talks between his envoys, representatives of the USA and Ukraine continue.
“We do not know all the bilateral economic or trade agreements, but we received some information on this topic,” Zelensky said during a press conference with journalists on Friday, according to a transcript published on Saturday.
“There are also various indications, both in the media and elsewhere, that some of these agreements may also concern issues related to Ukraine – for example, our sovereignty or the security of Ukraine,” Zelensky said. “We make it clear that Ukraine will not support any such, even potential, agreements about us that are made without us.”
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