Witkoff and Kushner Float Resuming Russian Oil and Gas Transit to Europe via Ukraine After the War

Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, have proposed resuming Russian oil and gas deliveries to Europe through Ukrainian territory after the war between Russia and Ukraine ends. The French newspaper Le Monde reports this, citing its sources. The proposal caused serious concern on the Ukrainian side, as it could deepen the country's dependence on Moscow and affect the course of peace talks.

The meeting in Florida

Witkoff and Kushner met a Ukrainian delegation on 9 October at the Shell Bay golf club in Florida. Besides the peace process, they discussed wider economic cooperation after the war. Witkoff presented the idea of a regional prosperity plan involving Ukraine, Europe and Russia. One element would reuse the pipelines that previously carried Russian oil and gas to Europe across Ukraine.

The US side said the scheme would give Ukraine transit revenue and help European consumers cut their energy costs.

Ukraine's reaction

According to Le Monde, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, was indignant. In his view, such an arrangement would effectively make Kyiv dependent on Moscow. The paper writes that he barely contained his anger and quotes him as saying: "Our model is not Belarus, but Poland!"

The meeting was interrupted, and Budanov phoned Zelensky, who advised him not to show his emotions. Talks later resumed but moved on to other topics, including Russian diesel fuel.

Wider context

Witkoff and Kushner presented economic deals with Russia as a possible tool for ending the war and stressed the profits to be made from energy cooperation. The Ukrainian delegation, for its part, feared that restoring business ties between Washington and Moscow would come at Ukraine's expense. The prospect of Russian energy returning to the European market before the war ends was a particular concern.

After talks in Oslo, Witkoff handed Russian President Vladimir Putin a document with US proposals for ending the war. Zelensky said it contains various proposals, including on Ukraine's security, and that Ukraine has a clear position on several issues where compromise is not possible.