US hopes diesel deal can 'soften' Moscow

US President Donald Trump's envoys told Ukrainian officials Friday that ‌a deal to allow Russian diesel exports is part of a bid to draw Russia back to negotiations after the failure of previous efforts to launch sustained talks to end the war, three people familiar with the meeting told Reuters. Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner told the Ukrainians in a meeting in Miami that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not prepared to negotiate an end to his 4 1/2-yea