Latest news with #Volker
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former US envoy for Ukraine Volker: Minerals deal won't bring Ukraine money soon but will shift rhetoric in US
Former US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker has said that the newly signed Ukraine-US agreement on cooperation in the field of minerals and natural resources will not yield immediate financial results but plays an important political role. Source: Volker on 13 June during the GLOBSEC-2025 forum in Czechia Details: Volker recalled that the agreement involves the creation of a Recovery Fund, which is expected to receive revenues from future natural resource extraction licences in Ukraine. However, he noted that "the reality is: nothing will go into this fund... for years and years". Instead, he explained that the main purpose of the deal is to shift the narrative in the US – moving away from portraying Ukraine as a charity case and towards a vision in which it can "repay" the aid and provide compensation in the future. Volker stated that "the Biden administration has been spending taxpayers' money limitlessly and having no strategy". Meanwhile, now, he added, there is a strategy, and "a way Ukraine can pay them [the US – ed.] back". He stressed that any financial return from this initiative would only be possible after the war ends and following years of investment in the extraction sector. Commenting on the investment outlook, Volker stated that large parts of Ukraine remain safe for business and that many of the barriers to investors stem not from the war but from the country's business climate. Volker said that it is necessary to clearly identify what is hindering economic development and remove these obstacles. Background: On 8 May, Ukraine's parliament ratified the so-called minerals agreement with the US and approved the creation of a joint Ukrainian-American reconstruction investment fund. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law on 12 May. On 13 May, Ukraine signed two commercial agreements with the US International Development Finance Corporation as part of the implementation of the ratified investment fund deal. On 4 June, Ukraine's parliament approved amendments to the Budget Code to enable the implementation of the US-Ukraine mineral resources agreement. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former US envoy for Ukraine Volker: I don't think we're gonna have peace, we may have ceasefire
Former US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker has said that achieving peace with Russia is currently unlikely, but a ceasefire is possible if financial pressure on the Kremlin is increased. Source: Volker on 13 June during the GLOBSEC-2025 forum in Czechia Details: Volker commented on whether US President Donald Trump is important for achieving peace with Russia. "I don't think we're gonna have peace. I do agree with the minister: I think we may have a ceasefire. And what it will take to get to a ceasefire is squeezing Putin's finances so he has a very hard time keeping the Russian state afloat and conducting this war if he doesn't have revenue," he said. Volker said that the United States must ensure a stable supply of weapons to Ukraine, even on a paid basis, without placing an additional burden on American taxpayers. He emphasised that Trump could play a key role in this. Volker stressed the importance of strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities as soon as possible, as Russia is trying to regroup and strengthen its positions. He added that the world must prepare for a long and tense confrontation over Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. "No one's going to be trying to attack Russia and defeat Moscow, but we do have to be prepared to have an uneasy stand-off over occupied Ukraine for a long time," he said. Commenting on the new sanctions package currently under consideration in the US Senate, Volker criticised the previous approaches of former US President Joe Biden's administration. "For the first three years of the war, the Biden administration had the sanctions in name, and then exemptions to the sanctions, particularly for payments to Russian banks for energy. They did not want to really squeeze Russian energy supplies, which meant that Putin didn't really face any difficulty," he stressed. Volker said that the new package contained important changes – it maintains key sanctions, imposes restrictions on the shadow fleet, removes exemptions and introduces penalties for those who help Russia circumvent sanctions. "It creates a very strong deterrent. Coupled with an effort to keep global oil prices low, that would also have an impact on Putin's budget," Volker noted. Background: It should be noted that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, his Democratic colleague Richard Blumenthal and 80 other co-authors have introduced a bill that would impose additional economic sanctions against Russia for refusing to comply with the ceasefire, including a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that purchase Russian oil. The bill also has support in the House of Representatives. However, according to media reports, Trump wants to soften the sanctions in the bill. Publicly, Trump says he will impose new sanctions against Russia if necessary. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Euronews
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Putin wants to meet Trump, but does Trump want to meet Putin?
A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump is "necessary in many ways" but has not been scheduled yet, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. "Such a meeting is clearly on the radar," he added. 'It must be prepared appropriately, and this requires efforts at a variety of expert levels," Peskov said. But what does "efforts" encompass? First and foremost, the Kremlin's commitment to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine, says Kurt Volker, former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations under Trump. In an interview with Euronews from the Kyiv Security Forum, Volker said the US president would want to meet his Russian counterpart, but only after a ceasefire in Ukraine was in place. "(Trump) wants to end the war, and then he would like to rebuild a relationship with Russia. He thinks that you could reintegrate Russia into a global economy, you could do business deals with Russia, but Putin has to stop the war first," Volker explained. "And as Putin is not doing that, the prospects for a Trump-Putin meeting are looking further and further away.' Volker served as Washington's Ukraine negotiator between 2017 and 2019, when Putin and Trump had their last meetings in Helsinki and then at the G20 gathering in Osaka. Volker says that the Russian president is "trying to play to the ego of President Trump by saying, ok, we can sit down man to man, we can work this out." At the start of his second term, Trump said he would meet Putin "very quickly" after taking office. 'I think President Trump in some ways sees himself as a strong figure able to do that. But he is not happy with Putin failing to end the war. And I that is where this idea of a meeting simply not going to happen unless the circumstances change', Volker said. Volker told Euronews there has consequently been a significant change of heart in Washington regarding Putin's willingness to halt his war against Ukraine. 'It is clear that the US and Ukraine are in alignment in calling for a full ceasefire for 30 days. And that's a stepping-tone to a permanent ceasefire. And Putin is mocking that.' 'He's not serious about actually stopping the fighting. And you do pick up the sense now in Washington that people are recognising that and calling Putin out, if you will, saying that Russia is demanding too much and they are not accepting a ceasefire,' Volker pointed out. Instead, the Russian president announced a three-day "unilateral ceasefire" to protect and secure the Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday. 'Putin is not serious about a ceasefire. He's not serious about stopping his attacks. I think he wants to make a political gesture here, especially as it aligns with his military parade in Moscow', Volker said, adding that he would be "surprised if he respects even his own ceasefire." The US Vice President JD Vance admitted this week that the talks to put an end to Russia's war against Ukraine are nowhere near Washington's initial expectations. 'Right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they're asking for too much,' Vance said. The US administration now can "toughen its rhetoric about Russia's aggression and their unwillingness to have a ceasefire," Volker told Euronews. This would be the first step followed by "a renewed emphasis on sanctions against Russia," possibly including secondary sanctions "against those who are helping Russia to evade the original sanctions on oil and gas and the financial industry," And most importantly, Washington will continue to supply arms to Ukraine. 'It won't be taxpayer money. That era of appropriations of just giving taxpayer money to fund Ukraine, I think, is over. But I could see loans for Ukraine, a lend-lease policy as we did for the UK in World War II," he added. While he didn't rule out seizing frozen Russian assets and using that to pay for arms to Ukraine, "Canada is moving in that direction, and I would not be surprised if the US does as well," Ambassador Volker concluded.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump taking harder approach towards Russia, says US former adviser
By Elizabeth Piper KYIV (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is adopting a tougher approach towards Russia to secure the ceasefire he promised when he took office after becoming "really aligned" with Ukraine, the U.S. leader's former special representative said on Thursday. Kurt Volker, Trump's Ukraine adviser in his first term and former U.S. Ambassador to the NATO military alliance, told Reuters the U.S. leader had started his second term with a challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure peace either "the easy way or the hard way". Now, after 100 days of his presidency have passed and with Putin showing little willingness to end the war against Ukraine, Trump is increasingly taking the "hard way", Volker said on the sidelines of a security conference in Kyiv. "I think it is in Ukraine's interest to have an end to the fighting, and so now that the U.S. and Ukraine are really aligned, it exposes how Putin is simply not willing to end the war," said Volker, who resigned as his adviser in 2019 after being named in a whistleblower complaint about the Trump administration. "Exactly," he responded when asked whether Trump was now taking the hard route, rather than the easy one, adding Congress should strengthen the U.S. leader's hand by approving secondary sanctions against major entities in Russia. After a disastrous meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February, the two have gone a long way to patching things up. Their two countries signed a minerals deal in Washington last month which hands the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals. That for Trump, Volker said, was "politically important" because it allowed him to show his backers that Ukraine was paying its way rather than using U.S. taxpayers' money. While Ukraine hopes the deal, to be voted on in parliament later on Thursday, will unlock the delivery of new U.S. weapons, at this stage, Trump is reluctant to talk about "the military side" while he tries to cajole Putin to end the fighting. But that does not mean military aid will not be forthcoming. "So what it does do, from a security perspective, is it gives the U.S. a stake in Ukraine's prosperity, economic development, security, its survival," said Volker. "It doesn't spell out what kind of obligations or commitments the U.S. would make toward Ukraine's security. But that doesn't prevent anything either."
Straits Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Trump taking harder approach towards Russia, says US former adviser
FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker testifies before a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 19, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo KYIV - President Donald Trump is adopting a tougher approach towards Russia to secure the ceasefire he promised when he took office after becoming "really aligned" with Ukraine, the U.S. leader's former special representative said on Thursday. Kurt Volker, Trump's Ukraine adviser in his first term and former U.S. Ambassador to the NATO military alliance, told Reuters the U.S. leader had started his second term with a challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure peace either "the easy way or the hard way". Now, after 100 days of his presidency have passed and with Putin showing little willingness to end the war against Ukraine, Trump is increasingly taking the "hard way", Volker said on the sidelines of a security conference in Kyiv. "I think it is in Ukraine's interest to have an end to the fighting, and so now that the U.S. and Ukraine are really aligned, it exposes how Putin is simply not willing to end the war," said Volker, who resigned as his adviser in 2019 after being named in a whistleblower complaint about the Trump administration. "Exactly," he responded when asked whether Trump was now taking the hard route, rather than the easy one, adding Congress should strengthen the U.S. leader's hand by approving secondary sanctions against major entities in Russia. After a disastrous meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February, the two have gone a long way to patching things up. Their two countries signed a minerals deal in Washington last month which hands the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals. That for Trump, Volker said, was "politically important" because it allowed him to show his backers that Ukraine was paying its way rather than using U.S. taxpayers' money. While Ukraine hopes the deal, to be voted on in parliament later on Thursday, will unlock the delivery of new U.S. weapons, at this stage, Trump is reluctant to talk about "the military side" while he tries to cajole Putin to end the fighting. But that does not mean military aid will not be forthcoming. "So what it does do, from a security perspective, is it gives the U.S. a stake in Ukraine's prosperity, economic development, security, its survival," said Volker. "It doesn't spell out what kind of obligations or commitments the U.S. would make toward Ukraine's security. But that doesn't prevent anything either." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
