As President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio remain "very optimistic" that a peace deal can soon be reached between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky to end their deadly war, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff — joined by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Putin, marking the administration’s latest bid to persuade the Kremlin to stop its nearly four-year invasion.
The high-stakes talks come against the backdrop of Putin making — and breaking — promises, and unrealistic demands, which — and I don't want to throw water on the anticipation of some — understandably leads to the Kremlin being viewed as consistently unreliable and strategically self-serving by many.
In other words — as Trump himself recently noted — Putin "talks nice and then he bombs everybody."
Putin and other Russian officials have a history of saying one thing for short-term diplomatic gain, only to turn around and repeatedly blow up agreements when convenient for Moscow.
RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA: Putin Throws Cold Water on Any Talk of a Quick Peace Deal
I'll leave the debate to others (for now, anyway), about whether — and under what circumstances — Vladimir Putin and his once-vaunted Red Army will finally and completely end its invasion of Ukraine.
That said, let's get to the issue at hand:
Russia’s war-fueled economy — battered by Western sanctions, runaway inflation, and a dwindling workforce — is being kept afloat by the one thing that never loses its shine: gold.
Now, a new report from The Telegraph alleges that, as Putin digs deeper into Africa's gold reserves to bankroll his war machine, forces loyal to the Kremlin are murdering and torturing Africans as Moscow fights to maintain its grip on the continent's gold trade.
Here's more:
Vladimir Putin’s mercenaries are accused of murdering and torturing their way through central Africa to get their hands [on gold].
Moscow has been hoarding gold for nearly two decades and the precious metal now plays a key role, alongside oil, in the finances of Putin’s war machine.
Successors to the Wagner Group have taken control of mines in the Central African Republic where they have gained a reputation for ruthlessness and violence.
The mercenaries have been accused of killing people to extend their grip on the trade and protect their claims.
Two months ago, the Russians allegedly shot dead 10 local prospectors near the Ndassima mine in the centre of the country.
A fortnight later, they seized another 10 prospectors and locked them in sun-baked metal containers for several days. At least one captive died, local media reported.
Successors to the Wagner Group — a private mercenary group that has conducted brutal military operations around the world on behalf of the Russian government (even though private military companies are illegal in Russia) — have reportedly seized key mines in the Central African Republic and developed a reputation for raw brutality and bloody intimidation. The mercenaries' control of the sites now relies on fear, enforced through relentless violence that keeps locals and rival groups in line.
"Gold has never been more critical to Russia," John Kennedy of RAND Europe told The Telegraph, adding:
For a long time, it’s been hoarding gold and since the invasion, it’s been putting it to use. Gold is crucial to managing growing economic pressures, which include an increasing budget deficit and new sanctions on its major oil exporting companies. Russia is also really interested in using gold to access international markets.
So How Is Putin Able to Pull This Whole Thing Off?
From 2006 to 2020, Russia stockpiled more gold than any other country on the planet, and by 2022 held the world’s fifth-largest reserve, though analysts warn the figures are far from transparent, according the Telegraph. They also reported that research by RAND Europe and the Center for Advanced Studies (C4ADS) says Moscow has used gold for state-to-state payments, weapons purchases, and other clandestine deals, including an alleged $104 million gold payment to Iran for drone-production help, which Tehran denies, of course.
The outlet further reported that much of the African gold involved is laundered through third countries, especially the United Arab Emirates, before entering global markets. Finally, Transparency International Russia estimates that at least $2.5 billion in African gold has been routed to Russia since 2022, often relabeled as "Emirati-origin metal," the outlet reported.
This Brings Us to the Bottom-Line Question — For Now
So, yeah — can Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin be trusted agree to — and abide by — a lasting peace treaty with Ukraine that the people of both countries can live with, or will he continue to do what he's always done — which is to lie when he has to, or believes its in his and Russia's best interest to do so — and wage his brutal war of conquest when he thinks he can get away with it?
