United States President Donald Trump's representatives proposed resuming Russian oil and gas transit through Ukraine during talks in Florida, French newspaper Le Monde reported.
The proposal sparked an angry reaction from the Ukrainian delegation. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, warned that the plan would leave Kyiv dependent on Moscow.
The discussion took place on October 9 at the Shell Bay golf club in Hallandale Beach. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner represented Trump at the meeting, where they discussed broader peace negotiations and post-war economic cooperation.
According to Le Monde, Witkoff presented a regional prosperity plan covering Ukraine, Europe and Russia. A central part of the plan involved restarting the pipelines that previously carried Russian crude oil and natural gas across Ukrainian territory to European buyers.
Witkoff argued that the arrangement would generate transit revenues for Ukraine while helping European consumers lower their energy costs. Witkoff and Kushner viewed economic deals with Russia as a practical mechanism to bring the war to an end, highlighting the financial gains that energy cooperation could deliver to all sides.
Dispute over Russian pipelines
Budanov rejected the proposal immediately. Le Monde reported that the Ukrainian official could barely contain his anger on the day of the meeting.
Budanov told the American envoys that Ukraine's model was Poland rather than Belarus. The remark brought the meeting to an abrupt halt, prompting Budanov to telephone Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Le Monde reported that Zelensky advised Budanov not to display his emotions.
The session later resumed, but the delegates shifted their focus to other economic matters, including Russian diesel fuel. The Ukrainian side remained worried that Washington was moving to rebuild commercial ties with Moscow at Ukraine's expense, especially if Russian energy returned to European markets before the war ended.
Ukrainian transit routes and diplomacy
For decades, Ukraine served as a primary transit corridor for Russian fossil fuels, with pipelines crossing its territory to carry crude oil and natural gas to European buyers. Following the 2022 invasion, European governments moved to cut their reliance on Russian energy. Budanov's remark highlighted the contrast between Belarus, a close Kremlin partner, and Poland, which eliminated Russian energy imports and integrated into Western alliances.
Witkoff is a prominent real estate investor and diplomatic envoy for Trump, while Kushner served as a senior White House adviser during Trump's first presidency. Hallandale Beach, where the private talks were held, is located in southern Florida.
The Florida meeting formed part of wider diplomatic efforts to address the conflict. Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that Witkoff also delivered a document outlining American proposals for ending the war to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin following negotiations in Oslo, Norway.
President Zelensky confirmed that the American document contained various proposals, including different approaches to Ukraine's national security. Zelensky said Ukraine maintained firm positions on key issues that could not be the subject of compromise.
