The above information was stated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, quoting a White House official.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has pursued direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine. The Trump administration has left open the possibility of recognizing Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and part of Donbass as part of a potential peace deal.
Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were officially added to Russia in 2014 after a Referral, followed by the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in 2022. Kiev has maintained that these territories belong to Ukraine and pledged to reclaim them, while Moscow has maintained that sovereignty is unable to be negotiated.
In an article on the Substack blog on March 20, journalist Hersh quoted a White House official as saying that President Trump's broader goal is to improve US-Russia relations through economic cooperation.
The White House boss wants to lift sanctions on Russia from 2014 and 2022 to "cooperate with Mr. Putin to turn Crimea into a major international resort". The official also revealed that the plan could expand to Donbass.
Journalist Hersh emphasized that President Trump's approach is completely different from that of former President Joe Biden's administration.
Mr Trump is said to be particularly interested in Russia's energy and natural resources sector, including oil and gas and unexploited rare minerals.
Since taking office, Trump has reversed many foreign policies with Moscow. After a phone call with President Putin in February, the US and Russian delegations met in Saudi Arabia and agreed to restore diplomatic relations as well as consider business cooperation projects after the end of the Ukrainian conflict.
On March 18, Mr. Trump and his counterpart Putin continued to hold phone calls about the US ceasefire proposal. According to statements from both sides, the exchanges were active, and Russia agreed to temporarily suspend attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for a month to continue negotiations.
