by WorldTribune Staff, October 19, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
President Donald Trump is working toward a negotiated settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war and on Friday instituted a 60-day pause to assess the situation following a recent Russian diesel embargo waiver, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Bessent corrected host Kristen Welker, who said Trump was pausing sanctions on Russia.
Asked by Welker what Russian leader Vladimir Putin has “done to deserve sanctions relief now,” Bessent responded:
“Well, first of all Kristen, that’s not true. No sanctions were lifted on Friday. No sanctions were lifted. There is a 60-day period so we can examine what’s going on.
“The only thing that has been lifted is the diesel embargo. And, I will point out, the U.K. in May waived their embargo on diesel and jet fuel made with Russian crude. So, you know, where’s the outrage for the rest of the world?”
Bessent accused Ukraine’s European partners of “financing the Russian war machine,” noting European countries import 10 times more than the $4 billion that the U.S. imports from Russian products.
He said it was a “false binary” to say the U.S. is siding with Russia in its war with Ukraine, when the U.S. has pledged support for Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022.
When asked by Welker if the U.S. is still an ally to Ukraine, Bessent said: “And [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy presents a false binary this morning that Ukraine must win.” Bessent was referring to Welker’s earlier interview with Zelenskyy in the broadcast.
“The war must end, and that will be with some kind of a negotiated settlement, and President Trump is working on that everyday. He’s done it since he came into office.”
The administration uses economic levers, tariffs, and potential sanctions adjustments to push both sides toward talks, warning that “all options are on the table” if Russia continues its military escalations and bombings.
The strategy incorporates a framework involving U.S. investment in Ukrainian rare earth minerals, energy, and state-owned enterprises to build an implicit post-conflict economic security shield.
Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social:
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.
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! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
On Saturday, RINO Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas criticized the pause on the diesel embargo.
Tillis called it “beyond irresponsible. It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day.”
Cornyn wrote that the late Sen. Lindsey Graham “would be appalled” by the decision.
Not surprisingly, Democrats also denounced the decision. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia said Trump’s action “defies clear congressional intent of legislation designed to punish Russia for its illegal war of aggression.” He said Congress should “fix this flawed law” and eliminate the provision that gives Trump the ability to waive sanctions.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Putin has proposed that he, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict.
“The plan represents an effort by Putin to capitalize on warming ties between Trump and the Russian leader that have alarmed Ukraine and its allies in Washington and Europe. Such a summit—one without the involvement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—would be unprecedented and send alarm bells ringing in European capitals and beyond,” the report said.
Putin floated the idea in an Oct. 9 phone call with Trump, said a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter. That conversation also produced a deal for the U.S. to buy Russian diesel fuel and facilitate its sale on the global market.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions were taking place over a potential meeting.
“There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting taking place,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
A senior U.S. official said Trump hadn’t agreed to such a summit. Still, the official said the president could be receptive to the idea, given his desire to fulfill a campaign promise to settle the war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday appeared to confirm discussions were continuing: “I think there’s been talks of a meeting,” he told reporters on a visit to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. “I don’t know everything’s been finalized.”
The Kremlin has suggested holding the trilateral dialogue on the sidelines of the coming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the people familiar with discussions said. That gathering takes place on Nov. 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese tech hub.
Ukraine’s foreign minister rejected the idea of a peace summit without Kyiv, saying it would “encourage Putin to continue his war.”
“As long as he continues this terror, there should be no place for him at any table,” Andrii Sybiha wrote Monday on X.
“China wants to be seen as the pivot of the great powers, and potentially as a mediator between the U.S. and Russia,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank.
The White House declined to comment to the Journal. The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn’t respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
