Trump Admin Floats Unfreezing Russian Assets In Big Move To Restart Talks

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Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - 07:40 AM

President Trump appears to be busy rolling back years of entrenched Ukraine policy. Starting last week he announced the controversial diesel deal with Putin, and this week Ukraine's Zelensky is complaining that intelligence-sharing has been throttled, and possibly even cut off.

The possibility or even likelihood of this heading to another TACO moment aside, what's next? New reporting in the Financial Times gives an idea. The United States has floated a proposal that European countries unfreeze some of Russia's sovereign assets and deposit them in an entity controlled by Washington.

The FT report cites four people familiar with the matter, who describe that the idea was formally presented by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during a meeting of Western allies and Ukraine in Miami on Oct.10.

"The US suggested several possible methods for unfreezing the assets, including for them to be moved into a new special-purpose financial vehicle overseen by Washington," the sources said.

This US plan would be enacted in the hope of opening up momentum toward a comprehensive Ukraine peace plan. Moscow has of late rejected any 'temporary' proposal, including a 60-day pause in fighting recently offered by Zelensky. It wants a lasting political settlement and not a mere 'pause' along the front lines.

At the Miami meeting were NATO representatives, as well as officials from the US, France, Germany, and the EU.

"Many ideas have been floated as to how Moscow's frozen assets could be used after the war, the US official added," the FT says.

European officials are said to have balked at any initiative to let go of Russian assets. "They were told that this was just simply not going to happen," one source said. For example, Germany has voiced its clear position:

"Those are assets that are frozen ​in Europe and they should remain frozen in Europe. ​This is our business and we are deciding over ⁠it," Merz said in Brussels ahead of an EU ​summit.

more:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-admin-floats-unfreezing-russian-assets-big-move-restart-talks