Putin's secret proposal to the US: Stop aid to Kiev, we stop intelligence on Iran

2026-03-20 20:04:11Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Putin's secret proposal to the US: Stop aid to Kiev, we stop intelligence
Vladimir Putin

Moscow proposed to the US a special agreement under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of US military assets in the Middle East, if Washington stopped supplying Ukraine with information about Russia.

Two people familiar with the US-Russia negotiations said such a proposal was made by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Trump administration envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their meeting last week in Miami, Politico reports .

The US rejected the proposal, Politico reports. However, the very existence of such a proposal has raised concerns among European diplomats, who worry that Moscow is trying to drive a wedge between Europe and the US at a critical moment for transatlantic relations.

An EU diplomat called the Russian proposal “scandalous.” The suggested deal is likely to fuel growing suspicions in Europe that the Witkoff-Dmitriev meetings are not bringing concrete progress toward a peace deal in Ukraine, but are instead seen by Moscow as a chance to lure Washington into a deal between the two powers that leaves Europe on the sidelines. On Thursday, the Kremlin said U.S.-brokered peace talks on Ukraine were “on hold.”

Russia has made various proposals to the United States regarding Iran, all of which have been rejected, said another person familiar with the discussions. The person said the United States also rejected a proposal to transfer Iran's enriched uranium to Russia, which was first reported by Axios.

Russia has expanded intelligence sharing and military cooperation with Iran since the start of the war, a person familiar with the intelligence said. The Wall Street Journal first reported the increase, saying Moscow was providing satellite imagery and drone technology to help Tehran target U.S. forces in the region. The Kremlin called that report “fake news.”

Trump implied a connection between intelligence sharing with Iran and Ukraine during a recent interview with Fox News, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin "might help them [Iran] a little bit, yeah, I think, and he probably thinks we're helping Ukraine, right?"

The United States continues to share intelligence with Ukraine, even as it has scaled back other support. Washington briefly halted the exchanges last year after a disastrous Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That abrupt halt to U.S. intelligence sharing sparked a chaotic clash between the allies and exposed deep tensions in the partnership with Kiev.


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