Kurt Volker. Photo: Getty Images

Former US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker has said that achieving peace with Russia is currently unlikely, but a ceasefire is possible if financial pressure on the Kremlin is increased.

Source: Volker on 13 June during the GLOBSEC Forum 2025 in Czechia

Details: Volker had been asked whether US President Donald Trump is essential to peace with Russia.

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“I don’t think we’re going to have peace. I do agree with the minister: I think we may have a ceasefire. And what it will take to get to a ceasefire is squeezing Putin’s finances so he has a very hard time keeping the Russian state afloat and conducting this war if he doesn’t have revenue,” he said.

Volker believes the United States should ensure a continued supply of weapons to Ukraine, even on a paid-for basis, without placing an additional burden on American taxpayers, and that Trump could play a key role in this.

Volker stressed the importance of strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities as soon as possible, as Russia is trying to regroup and strengthen its position.

He added that the world must prepare for a long and tense confrontation over Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.

“No one’s going to be trying to attack Russia and defeat Moscow, but we do have to be prepared to have an uneasy stand-off over occupied Ukraine for a long time,” he said.

Commenting on the new sanctions package currently being considered in the US Senate, Volker was critical of the previous approach taken by former US President Joe Biden’s administration.

“For the first three years of the war, the Biden administration had the sanctions in name, and then exemptions to the sanctions, particularly for payments to Russian banks for energy. They did not want to really squeeze Russian energy supplies, which meant that Putin didn’t really face any difficulty,” he stressed. 

Volker added that the new package contains important changes – it leaves key sanctions in place, imposes restrictions on the shadow fleet, removes exemptions and introduces penalties for those who help Russia circumvent sanctions.

“It creates a very strong deterrent […], coupled with an effort to keep global oil prices low – that would also have an impact on Putin’s budget,” Volker noted.

Background:


Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, his Democratic colleague Richard Blumenthal and 80 other co-authors have introduced a bill that would impose additional economic sanctions against Russia for refusing to comply with the ceasefire, including a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that purchase Russian oil.
The bill also has support in the House of Representatives.
However, according to media reports, Trump wants to soften the sanctions in the bill. Publicly, Trump says he will impose new sanctions against Russia if necessary.

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