US offered Russia frozen assets for limited truce, NYT says

President Donald Trump's administration offered Russia three economic incentives to get Moscow to agree to a limited ceasefire covering Ukraine's energy infrastructure or fighting at sea, The New York Times reported, citing officials familiar with the talks. The offers included unfreezing Russian state assets held in the West, a deal involving the oil company Lukoil PJSC Lukoil, and easing curbs on potash exports from Belarus.nytimes+3

The report came days after Trump announced that the U.S. would buy Russian diesel, and after the Treasury Department issued a license allowing the fuel to be sold and imported until April 7, 2027. According to the Times, Moscow appears to have given nothing in return.unn+1

Three proposals

According to the Times, the U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner presented the proposals in late September, in talks held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. The first was to release billions of dollars in frozen Russian sovereign assets. Officials said the money was meant as an "upfront incentive for partial truces, not a reward for their enactment," reviving an idea from last year to release up to $100 billion.ua+1

The second proposal revived a plan to sell part of Lukoil to a group of Middle Eastern investors, some of whom have business ties to the U.S. negotiators. Earlier Times reporting found that the investor group is led by Todd Boehly, an American who has donated $2 million to pro-Trump causes, and that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation would get a stake of about 15% without putting up cash. The third proposal would let Belarus export potash again.yahoo+3

Kyiv asks for safeguards

The Times reported that Ukrainian officials were surprised by how far Washington was willing to go. Kyiv did not reject any of the proposals outright. Instead, it asked for safeguards: for every dollar of Russian assets unfrozen, Ukraine would receive the same amount, or the U.S. would guarantee more military aid if Russia broke a truce. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned that the Kremlin sees concessions as appeasement, not as a reason to negotiate, according to the Kyiv Post.kyivpost+3

Diesel deal and a stalled process

The talks stalled. While a Ukrainian delegation was in Miami to meet Kushner and Witkoff, Trump held a long call with Vladimir Putin on October 9 and announced the diesel agreement. Axios reported that the deal came after Ukraine refused to stop striking Russian oil refineries. On Saturday, Trump accused Ukraine of causing a "world problem" with the refinery attacks and said it should "get a new president." The Kremlin said talks to end the war would not resume right away.nashaniva+1

Ukraine has said it will stop hitting Russian refineries only if Russia also stops striking Ukraine's energy system. As of October 11, no energy or maritime truce had been announced.unn

"If one starts 'chasing' Russia, it will only wait until even greater concessions are offered," Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland, told the Times, as paraphrased by Nasha Niva.nashaniva