Trump Delays Russia Deal to Keep Peace Talks Alive

The Russo-Ukrainian War, as we've been reporting here at RedState, has spillage with global consequences, mostly in energy prices. This mess has gone on far too long, and neither side shows much inclination to settle on any kind of a peace.

Late on Sunday, President Trump announced that he is once more negotiating to bring this whole thing to an end. Can the deal-maker of deal-makers get it done this time?

https://t.co/JtHDPTRu4E

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 18, 2026

The president writes (paragraph breaks added for clarity):

My decision on Russia is a very simple one. 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. Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations! Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want! Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way. 

That reads a lot like President Trump is using any possible deal with Russia contingent on Russia at least discussing a deal to end the war with Ukraine, while noting that Russia seem to have backed away from aiding Iran; if I were advising the president, I would advise him to be very, very careful on that last part. Russia's been aiding Iran since the Soviet era, and Russia shares the Caspian Sea with Iran, both nations having ports there; that's a highway for Russian aid to Iran in many and varied forms, from food to weapons.

But it is, again, Ukraine's strikes on Russian diesel refineries that seems to be at the front of the president's mind.

Lastly, Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this, but Russia is, nevertheless, sending, at a low price, millions of barrels of diesel to the World. Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did. He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead. 

I WANT THIS WAR END! (sic) Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP

It makes good tactical and strategic sense from Ukraine's viewpoint, to hit those Russian refineries and storage facilities. If you want to win a war, you hit your opponent's supply chains, and in modern warfare, that means fuel. So, it's in Ukraine's best interest, right now, to hammer those Russian facilities.

On the other hand, it's in the best interests of the United States to keep that diesel flowing, to try to keep global diesel prices as low as possible, especially since the Strait of Hormuz is still being contested.

It's not clear, from this post, if any meetings are scheduled with either Russia or Ukraine. But the longer this drags on, the worse things will get, and neither nation can keep this up forever.

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