Russian President Vladimir Putin has put forward a unique barter in front of the United States and said that Moscow will stop sharing intelligence information, specifically regarding coordinates of American assets in the Middle East, if in exchange America cuts off information supply to Ukraine.
The proposal, according to a report by the Politico citing people familiar with the matter, was made by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Trump administration in Miami, during a meeting with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. However, Washington reportedly rejected the offer.
Even so, the existence of the proposal has raised eyebrows regarding Russia trying to create a rift between America and Europe at a crucial and sensitive juncture in geopolitics amid the ongoing Iran war. Trump has already expressed dissatisfaction, dissent, and disappointment towards the NATO countries for not showing up in the war against Iran, particularly to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Hormuz, the waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has been shut down by the Iranian IRGC.
In the most recent jibe at the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, the Republican president called them "cowards" and "paper tigers" for complaining about high oil prices without wanting to fight against Iran.
"Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER! They didn't want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran. Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don't want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!," he said in a post on Truth Social.
Some days back, Trump had warned NATO allies of a "very bad future" if they refuse to help in securing the key waterway.
On Thursday, during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Trump stated, "We don't use the Strait of Hormuz; we are defending it for everybody else. NATO doesn't want to help us defend the Strait, and they are the ones who need it."
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan in a collective statement have said that they are ready to contribute to ensure safe passage through key shipping route.
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