Trump regime's 'shuttle diplomacy' with US, Russian and Ukrainian representatives 'nuclear power plant privatization'
The Trump regime's strategy to secure minerals and control the privatization of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant began with 'shuttle diplomacy' in which the US had separate Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Saudi Riyadh summit and the US delegation traveled back and forth to talk to each other.
A current Ukrainian official and former official who are well aware of the talks between the US and Ukraine told the New York Times on the 20th about 'Trump's strategy to control the nuclear power plant', "If President Trump wants to access Ukrainian minerals, he needs the power generation capacity of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant because mineral extraction and processing are energy-intensive industries," and "the privatization of the state-run nuclear power plant, which is the most profitable."
Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, reported on the 21st that "the US plans to hold indirect talks in Saudi Arabia with Russia and Ukraine to understand each other's situations."
Special Envoy Kellogg described the Saudi talks as “shuttle diplomacy,” with Russian and Ukrainian representatives attending in separate rooms in Riyadh, with the U.S. representative “basically saying, ‘Okay, what are your terms?’” And he said in an interview with Glenn Beck on the 20th that it was basically shuttle diplomacy between the rooms in Riyadh, going to the other side and asking, 'What are your conditions?'
After hearing the answers exchanged through shuttle diplomacy, Kellogg, the Trump administration's special envoy to Ukraine, said in an interview, "We will see where we can reach a comprehensive ceasefire, and that will be the first step toward ending this war."
The Kiev Independent reported that "President Zelensky confirmed that the Ukrainian contact group will meet with US representatives this week to discuss a temporary ceasefire and prioritize the protection of civilian infrastructure," and that "separate negotiations between the US and Russia are scheduled for March 24, and negotiations between the US and Ukraine will follow on the same day."
The Independent reported that day that "President Putin rejected a complete ceasefire in a phone call with US President Trump and agreed to a temporary mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure," and that "according to President Zelensky, the ceasefire to ensure the security of the energy systems of both countries means that there will be no attacks on energy infrastructure and civilian infrastructure." “It means,” he said.
President Trump signed an executive order on the 20th that uses the Cold War-era Defense Production Act (DPA) to provide funding, loans, and other investment support for domestic processing of various key minerals.
Reuters reported that “the DPA gives the Department of Defense broad authority to procure equipment needed for national defense, and the invocation of this provision declares that relying on competitors for key minerals poses a threat to national security,” and “Trump went on to say that the United States will soon sign a minerals and natural resources agreement with Ukraine.”
Regarding the executive order, Reuters said, “It directs federal agencies to create a list of U.S. mines that can be approved quickly and a list of federal lands that can be used for mineral processing, including lands controlled by the Department of Defense.” “The order encourages faster permitting of mining and processing projects, directs the Department of the Interior to prioritize mineral production on federal lands, and directs agencies to help increase U.S. production of copper and gold.”
The Defense Production Act of the United States was introduced by President Truman in 1950 as a policy to “increase steel production for the Korean War,” and former President Biden of the Democratic Party invoked the law by adding battery materials such as lithium, nickel, graphite, cobalt, and manganese to the list of items subject to the bill, and by investing $750 million in mining companies to launch a domestic production system for minerals.
Regarding Trump’s vested interests in Ukraine, the New York Times said, “During the war, Ukraine was swept by a wave of privatization, and the privatization of Energoatom, the state-owned nuclear power company that generates the most revenue, is a stumbling block,” and Victoria Voytsitska, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament and senior member of the parliament’s energy committee, told the New York Times, “I expect there will be great resistance to this idea in Ukraine,” “from both sides of the political spectrum.” Currently, all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants are owned by EnergoAtom, and Ukrainian law prohibits privatization.
The U.S.-based Westinghouse provided raw materials and technology for six reactors at the Zaporizhia plant for three years before the war, and the U.S. Department of Energy warned Rosatom, the Russian nuclear giant that it could be prosecuted under U.S. law if it used Westinghouse technology at the Zaporizhia plant, the New York Times reported.
Westinghouse struggled for years to enter the Ukrainian nuclear market, which had long been dominated by Rosatom, before the war, but Russia seized control of the plant early in the invasion, and Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman gave a speech in Ukraine in April last year.
Olga Kosharna, a Ukrainian nuclear safety expert, said the Russian takeover of Zaporizhia had raised concerns about Westinghouse’s potential theft of intellectual property.
Andrian Prokip, an energy expert at the Kennan Institute in Washington, told the Times that it would be “a clear win” for Westinghouse if it returned the plant to Ukrainian hands, because it would expand its market.
The AP reported on the 20th that, regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, “According to a White House statement, President Trump suggested in a Wednesday phone call that President Zelensky should consider giving U.S. ownership of the Ukrainian power plant to ensure its long-term security,” and “According to the statement, Trump suggested that “American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure,” and President Zelensky later told reporters that their conversation focused on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and the next day, “the ownership issue” of the other three plants was never discussed, and that “all nuclear power plants belong to the Ukrainian people.”
The AP continued, “Control of the plant is likely to remain a legal and logistical issue, intertwined with a very divisive issue for both warring sides: control of the land itself,” and “Russian forces control the area, while Ukrainian forces are separated by the Dnipro River and more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) of terrain.” Russia and the United States will hold talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the 24th to discuss the war in Ukraine, Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said on the 20th, TASS reported.
Ushakov told TASS that he had spoken with US President Donald Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz about "implementing the well-known plan for the safety of navigation in the Black Sea."
The Kiev Independent said of the Russian announcement, "A similar agreement previously existed under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey in 2022," and "This initiative helped stabilize world food prices by allowing Ukraine to export agricultural products through the Black Sea despite Russia's full-scale invasion, but Russia withdrew from the agreement in July 2023, effectively destroying the agreement." It also said that the damage to civilian infrastructure was "detected on that day."
The Independent continued, “Since then, Russian forces have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian port infrastructure and civilian vessels,” adding, “On March 1, a Russian ballistic missile struck the port of Odessa, damaging port facilities and a Panamanian civilian vessel, and in October 2024, several foreign vessels were damaged in Russian attacks on the port, including several vessels in a separate attack.”
The Independent said the talks in Riyadh would include Russian officials Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee on International Affairs, and Sergei Beseda, an aide to the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). “Beseda previously headed the FSB’s Fifth Directorate, which was responsible for gathering intelligence on Ukraine before the full-scale invasion,” it said.
The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations held separate discussions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11, and while the Ukrainian side proposed a ceasefire in air and sea, the U.S. changed the negotiating method to a “30-day energy ceasefire.”
See <Zelensky ‘Civil infrastructure shutdown, limited to Russian-occupied nuclear power plants’ Korean media ‘partial ceasefire agreement’ fabricated, March 20, 2025>