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Trump and Putin: negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine!
US President Trump discusses sanctions and raw materials with Putin while Russia's economy is under pressure.
Trump and Putin: negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine!
The current conflict between the USA and Russia continues to escalate. US President Donald Trump plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss possible ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine. What is interesting is that Ukraine offers the USA rare raw materials in exchange for security guarantees. Meanwhile, Russia is advancing on significant raw material deposits, which is further inflaming the situation.
On March 18, 2025, the reported Frankfurter Rundschau that the US government has allowed a previously existing exemption for Russian banks to expire. This arrangement allowed banks to receive payments for energy supplies in US dollars while they were already excluded from the SWIFT system as a result of Western sanctions. The expiry of this directive is seen as a potential catalyst for a significant decline in financial flows for Russia's oil and gas exports.
The effects of the sanctions
The sanctions have seriously affected the Russian banking sector since 2022. SWIFT, an international network for processing money transfers, has denied access to international money transfers to banks that are not integrated into this system. According to a report by Germany radio Around 70 percent of Russian banks are already excluded from the SWIFT network, which has led to problems with international currency payments in import and export transactions.
The EU and US governments have also imposed sanctions on the largest Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB, which together hold about 80 percent of the Russian banking sector's assets. In response to the situation, Russian banks have developed their own payment system, SPFS, to counter the challenges of a possible SWIFT exclusion.
The US government continues to look for ways to persuade Russia to agree to a ceasefire. Despite these efforts, Putin is sticking to high demands. Experts point out that this development could be further complicated by the USA's declining reputation in the international arena.