Kremlin Memo Proposes Dollar Re-Engagement and Energy Pact in Pitch to Trump Team

A confidential Kremlin memorandum circulating this year sketches a framework for rekindling economic ties between Moscow and a prospective Trump-led Washington. The paper argues that bilateral cooperation could extend beyond diplomacy into synchronized financial and energy arrangements, notably a move back toward transacting in the US currency. Energy is central to the plan: the memo prioritizes joint projects across conventional hydrocarbons and raw-material supply chains rather than accelerated decarbonization. It envisions coordinated capital flows into offshore drilling, natural gas developments and critical mining that would generate outsized returns for American firms positioned to participate. Financially, normalization of payment mechanisms with dollar usage is presented as an enabler for larger cross-border investment and easier repatriation of profits. Politically, the proposal implicitly treats a negotiated end to hostilities as the trigger for sweeping economic incentives, tying security outcomes to commercial opportunity. For US policy, the pitch creates a dilemma between short-term corporate gains and long-term strategic objectives like energy transition and alliance cohesion. Markets could see immediate relief in sectors tied to hydrocarbons and mining if the plan advanced, while green-energy players might face policy headwinds. Sanctions architecture and secondary enforcement would be tested, since restoring dollar-cleared trade with Russia would require U.S. regulatory recalibration or waivers. The memo also signals Moscow’s intent to leverage natural-resource bargaining chips to reinsert itself into Western financial circuits. Implementation would depend on political will in Washington, congressional oversight, and the reaction of allied capitals. Absent those approvals, the proposals remain an opening gambit rather than a binding roadmap, but they crystallize how economic carrots are being positioned alongside diplomatic aims. The ultimate outcome will hinge on whether the commercial promise persuades U.S. stakeholders to accept strategic trade-offs and whether allied partners tolerate a pivot that could undercut coordinated sanctions and climate commitments.