Russia and US discussing sanctions relief for Moscow’s sovereign wealth fund, Kremlin aide says克里姆林宫一名助手称，俄罗斯和美国正在讨论解除对莫斯科主权财富基金的制裁。
The Trump administration and the Kremlin are discussing the possible lifting of US sanctions on Russia’s multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, Russian state media quoted a Kremlin aide as saying, in what would be another US concession to Moscow in negotiations to end its war in Ukraine.
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The Trump administration and the Kremlin are discussing the possible lifting of US sanctions on Russia’s multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, Russian state media quoted a Kremlin aide as saying, in what would be another US concession to Moscow in negotiations to end its war in Ukraine .
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that talks with the United States to lift sanctions on the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund have been “going on for some time,” Russian state news agency TASS and Reuters reported on Wednesday.
“I don’t know what the outcome will be,” he added.
The fund’s CEO and presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev was actively engaging American officials on lifting the sanctions, Ushakov said.
The Biden administration imposed the sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, calling it a “ known slush fund ” for Putin and his inner circle.
CNN has reached out to the White House and US Department of State for comment.
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The New York Times first reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration was considering lifting the sanctions.
President Donald Trump has defended recent concessions made to Russia on sanctions, which have triggered criticism from both sides of the aisle in Washington and driven a wedge between the US and its Western allies.
Earlier this month, Trump announced a deal to allow Russian diesel exports to global energy markets and waived a further slate of sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales that had only just been signed into law.
The forestalled legislation would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on, among other things, goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, the sale of which is crucial to funding the Kremlin’s war machine.
The US-Russia diesel deal involves suspending fuel export sanctions for six months to allow for diesel sales at market prices, but experts have cast doubt on the impact it will have on global diesel markets.
Russia banned exports of diesel in early July, after Ukrainian drone strikes on its refineries triggered widespread fuel shortages across the country.
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Nothing personal between me and Trump, Zelensky tells CNN
The White House is trying to relieve pressure on oil and diesel prices in the US ahead of crucial midterm elections next week.
Trump has also said his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia was to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.
“I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on October 18.
Trump has blamed high global fuel prices on Ukraine, and heaped pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian refineries even as Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine’s towns, cities, and energy infrastructure.
There is growing anxiety in Kyiv and Europe that the Trump administration will make further concessions to Moscow in an effort to get Putin to agree to a peace deal.
Zelensky recently told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the waivers strengthened Putin’s war against Ukraine while Moscow was failing on the battlefield.
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Kyiv has long advocated for tougher sanctions on Russian energy exports.
Last week, Putin said the Kremlin would be ready to resume trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine peace talks after mid-November, at the request of US special envoy Steve Witkoff who met the Russian leader in St. Petersburg. During the talks, Putin expressed interest in restoring economic cooperation with the US.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, David Goldman, Matt Egan, Ivana Kottasová, Jennifer Hansler, Tim Lister and Daria Tarasova-Markina contributed to this report.
伊戈尔·伊万科/法新社/美联社
据俄罗斯国家媒体援引克里姆林宫一位助手的话说，特朗普政府和克里姆林宫正在讨论可能解除美国对俄罗斯数十亿美元主权财富基金的制裁，这将是美国在结束乌克兰战争的谈判中向莫斯科做出的又一项让步。
据俄罗斯国家通讯社塔斯社和路透社周三报道，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的外交政策顾问尤里·乌沙科夫告诉记者，与美国就解除对国有俄罗斯直接投资基金的制裁进行的谈判已经“进行了一段时间”。
“我不知道结果会是什么，”他补充道。
乌沙科夫表示，该基金的首席执行官兼总统特使基里尔·德米特里耶夫正在积极与美国官员就解除制裁进行磋商。
拜登政府在俄罗斯于 2022 年 2 月入侵乌克兰后实施了制裁，称其为普京及其核心圈子的“众所周知的秘密资金”。
CNN已联系白宫和美国国务院寻求置评。
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从黑市交易到俄罗斯柴油，降低燃油价格并没有什么“灵丹妙药”。
《纽约时报》周二率先报道称，特朗普政府正在考虑解除制裁。
唐纳德·特朗普总统为近期对俄罗斯在制裁问题上做出的让步进行了辩护，这些让步引发了华盛顿两党人士的批评，并在美国与其西方盟友之间造成了隔阂。
本月初，特朗普宣布了一项协议，允许俄罗斯向全球能源市场出口柴油，并豁免了一系列与俄罗斯化石燃料销售相关的制裁，这些制裁刚刚签署成为法律。
被搁置的立法将对从俄罗斯五大原油或天然气进口国进口到美国的商品征收高达 100% 的关税，而这些商品的销售对于资助克里姆林宫的战争机器至关重要。
美俄柴油协议涉及暂停燃料出口制裁六个月，以允许柴油按市场价格销售，但专家们对该协议将对全球柴油市场产生的影响表示怀疑。
7月初，乌克兰无人机袭击俄罗斯炼油厂，引发全国范围内的燃料短缺，俄罗斯随后禁止了柴油出口。
奥尔加·伊瓦先科/彭博社/盖蒂图片社
泽连斯基告诉CNN：“我和特朗普之间没有任何私人恩怨。”
在下周关键的中期选举之前，白宫正试图缓解美国石油和柴油价格的压力。
特朗普还表示，他决定豁免对俄罗斯的部分制裁，是为了让莫斯科继续留在谈判桌上。
“我正在就俄罗斯和乌克兰之间的战争进行和平谈判，不想做任何愚蠢的事情，把俄罗斯赶出谈判桌，”特朗普在10月18日发表于Truth Social上的帖子中写道。
特朗普将全球高油价归咎于乌克兰，并向乌克兰总统泽连斯基施加巨大压力，要求其停止对俄罗斯炼油厂的袭击，而与此同时，俄罗斯仍在继续袭击乌克兰的城镇、城市和能源基础设施。
基辅和欧洲越来越担心，特朗普政府会进一步向莫斯科做出让步，以促使普京同意和平协议。
泽连斯基最近在接受 NBC“会见媒体”节目采访时表示，这些豁免加强了普京对乌克兰的战争，而莫斯科在战场上却节节败退。
特朗普和泽连斯基之间的相互不信任加剧了美乌关系的恶化。
基辅方面长期以来一直主张对俄罗斯能源出口实施更严厉的制裁。
上周，普京表示，应美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫在圣彼得堡会见他时提出的请求，克里姆林宫准备在11月中旬之后恢复俄美乌三方和平谈判。会谈期间，普京表达了恢复与美国经济合作的意愿。
CNN 的 Kevin Liptak、David Goldman、Matt Egan、Ivana Kottasová、Jennifer Hansler、Tim Lister 和 Daria Tarasova-Markina 对本报道亦有贡献。