Trump faces a new crisis with Kyiv after the agreement on Russian diesel

Trump faces a new crisis with Kyiv after the agreement on Russian diesel Ukrainians and Europeans are dismayed by the US decision to suspend sanctions on Putin's fuel - CAST - ENG Trump's new diplomatic crisis with Ukraine exploded on Friday at the exclusive golf club Steve Witkoff, Shell Bay, in Miami. High-ranking Ukrainian and European officials had moved there to maintain talks with Trump's envoys for peace, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. They had planned to discuss updated proposals to end the war in Ukraine before a new trip to Russia. But both men made an announcement that left their interlocutors and much of the world speechless. The North Americans communicated that the United States would suspend sanctions on Russian diesel. They also conveyed a firm request from Trump: that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refineries. One of the Ukrainians asked what they would get in return. According to three eyewitnesses, the North Americans replied that the US was already doing a lot for Ukraine, and that they did not have to negotiate any exchange to stop attacking the refineries. They then mentioned the help of intelligence services, considered vital. Some of the present interpreted the answer as a veiled threat. A North American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied that a withdrawal of this support had been hinted at. At the same time, he stated that Trump was so angry with Ukraine that it was difficult to know what he would do. Now the dispute has become the most serious crisis between Washington and Kyiv since the escalation of tension in the Oval Office with the Ukrainian president last year. The future of North American support for Ukraine is once again at stake. The escalation of retreats has put into question Trump's efforts to lower energy prices before the midterm elections next month, which threaten to destabilize the fragile negotiations about Ukraine. For the Ukrainians and their European allies, the attacks on Russian refineries are the most effective way Kyiv has to respond to the Russian bombings against Ukraine's energy network. Zelensky has stated that he is willing to stop attacking energy infrastructures if Russia does the same. But Russia has denied this. Despite this, Trump considers that the Ukrainian attacks are an offense against an administration that has continued to provide intelligence and a certain military support to Ukraine, despite the harsh statements of the North American president against Zelensky. Diesel prices, in particular, have become a curse for Trump because they increase the costs for farmers just when the harvest season begins and there are only a few weeks left until the midterm elections. "It is more than I thought once," Trump told journalists, referring to Zelensky and the Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, ignoring the Russian bombings against Ukraine's energy network. "He wants to create problems in the world. He wants to create problems for our farmers and ranchers." Export statistics indicate that the increase in diesel and energy prices is mainly due to Trump's war against Iran, although the Ukrainian attacks against Russia have contributed to it. On Sunday, Trump stated on social media that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on an "energy ceasefire" with immediate effect. Neither side confirmed the agreement. "They were agreed because I said they were agreed," Trump stated on Monday at the White House. He also reiterated his frustration with Zelensky. "I think Putin has more desire to reach an agreement than Zelensky," the president said. On Monday, European and Ukrainian leaders suggested that they would be willing to accept an energy truce, but expressed doubts about whether Russia would respect it. The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andriy Sibiha, pointed out that Moscow had attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructures on Sunday night, "a few hours after" the announcement. Six hours of talks The meeting on Friday at Witkoff's golf club lasted six hours, dedicated in large part to exploring what conditions could make future peace negotiations possible. Among the issues discussed were, for example, Ukraine's accession to the European Union and territorial control. At one point, Witkoff left the room to participate in a call between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Trump, according to one of the people present at the meeting. In addition to the Ukrainian negotiating team, national security advisors from the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, as well as high officials from the European Union and NATO also participated. But Trump's agreement with Putin on diesel quickly overshadowed the rest of the talks. On Friday, Zelensky described the agreement as a "weak decision" to allow Russian diesel imports with the aim of lowering prices. As the dispute intensified, Trump stated on Tuesday that Ukraine needed "a new president". Several European leaders, including the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, publicly expressed their support for Zelensky. Members of the US Congress criticized the diesel agreement because, in their opinion, it contributes to financing the Russian war machine. "The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians," a bipartisan group of six senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and John Curtis of Utah, stated on Sunday in a statement. "The administration must rectify this immediately." Björn Seibert, a high-ranking EU official who attended the meeting on Friday in Florida, informed the ambassadors of the 27 member states about the meeting on Sunday. The ambassadors were stunned. One of the main conclusions of the meeting in Florida, Seibert explained, was that the North Americans had more contact with the Russians than they publicly acknowledged. The Trump administration defends that the agreements with Putin, in addition to contributing to the reduction of energy prices, would facilitate an agreement with Ukraine by demonstrating to Russia that it can reintegrate into the world economy if it accepts to make concessions in the conflict. © The New York Times