Putin Won’t Give Up His Hostility to the West. U.S. Business May Return Anyway.

Russia has been radioactive to Western businesses since it started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But Russia’s relationship with the U.S. is changing, and it is suddenly possible to envision business returning to the country. 

President Donald Trump said on Feb. 24 that he is considering “major economic development transactions” with Russia. The contentious Oval Office meeting on Friday between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggests those kinds of deals could come sooner than anyone had expected. Trump said last week that sanctions on Russia will remain in place, but he expects they will be lifted “at some point.”