US President Donald Trump said that Washington has an interest in maintaining good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, emphasizing the economic potential of such rapprochement.
“We want to maintain good relations with Russia, Ukraine and everyone. That would be great for business – Russia has vast territories and very valuable lands“, Trump told reporters at the White House.
The statement comes at a time when economic relations between Washington and Moscow remain severely limited due to the war in Ukraine and the current US sanctions. However, in recent months, representatives of both countries have increasingly spoken of the possibility of restoring economic ties if the political situation changes.
Just a day earlier, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov held a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in North Carolina. According to Siluanov, there are areas of common economic interest between Russia and the US.
However, the US position remains more cautious for now. Bessant has stated that economic easing or deals with Moscow cannot be expected until the war in Ukraine is over. This shows that the possible restoration of business relations remains directly linked to the development of the peace process.
Trump's words about Russia's "valuable lands" can also be viewed through the prism of the country's vast resource base. Russia has significant reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, nickel, palladium, gold, diamonds and other raw materials, as well as a huge agricultural and forestry fund. Access to natural resources and investment opportunities are traditionally among the areas that could be of interest to international business in the event of a possible normalization of relations.
At the same time, the prospects remain uncertain. The Russian economy remains heavily oriented towards military spending, and the Russian President's special representative for sustainable development Boris Titov warned this week that excessive concentration on military production could create serious imbalances in the economy. According to estimates cited by Reuters, the growth of the Russian economy in 2026 is expected to be about 0.4%, while a number of civilian sectors remain under pressure.
Trump has repeatedly placed economic incentives among the tools for achieving political agreements. In parallel with calls for better relations, however, he continues to use the threat of new sanctions against Moscow in the absence of progress in ending the war. Such an approach outlines a strategy in which the possibility of future economic cooperation is used as an incentive, and sanctions - as a means of pressure.