Efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine stalled on Saturday after President Trump said the United States would buy Russian diesel. Kremlin officials said there would be no immediate resumption of peace talks. "We will think about when these negotiations might be resumed," said adviser Yuri Ushakov on Friday night.
Hours after President Trump said the United States would buy Russian diesel, the Kremlin said there would be no immediate resumption of discussions to end the war.
Efforts to jump start diplomatic talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine were stalled on Saturday after President Trump said the United States would buy Russian diesel, the latest case of Washington's undermining Kyiv by giving Moscow economic breathing room.
Mr. Trump's announcement on Friday came despite a Russian ban on exporting fuel and was followed by the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April. The Kremlin apparently offered no concessions in return.
Hours later, Russian officials said there would be no immediate resumption of peace talks.
"We will think about when these negotiations might be resumed," Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir V. Putin's foreign policy adviser, said in a statement Friday night.
The diplomatic efforts fizzled shortly after Ukrainian negotiators arrived in Miami to meet with Mr. Trump's top envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. As those talks were about to begin, Mr. Trump spoke over the phone at length with Mr. Putin.
While Mr. Trump's announcement of the diesel deal made no mention of Ukraine, it was poised to hurt Ukrainian efforts to defend itself, as any major purchase of Russian fuel would help fund Moscow's war machine.
Ukrainian officials said on Saturday that the talks in Miami had ended without a breakthrough.