In Trump-Putin Peace Gambit, Both Sides Bet on Business Lure

As diplomats wrestle with core elements of peace in Ukraine, one element of the draft deal has gone largely overlooked: sweeteners based on an imagined blossoming of US-Russia business.

Proposals hashed out mostly by Kirill Dmitriev, who heads one of Russia’s sovereign wealth funds, and US envoy Steve Witkoff envisage a “long-term economic cooperation agreement” between the countries, including energy, rare earths and data centers. A US-Russian investment fund for joint projects would create “a strong incentive not to return to conflict.”