Susan Kokinda of Promethean Action argued that President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is moving against the financial and geopolitical structures she says have sustained conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, pointing to renewed diplomacy with Russia and changing U.S. signals concerning the Falkland Islands dispute.
Kokinda began with the Kremlin’s decision to release footage from a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and American representatives.
“You don’t see this very often: the Kremlin posting full video footage of a high-level meeting between Russian President Putin and American representatives,” Kokinda said.
During the meeting, Putin asked the delegation to deliver a message to Trump.
“But before we begin, I’d like you to please convey my best wishes and the words of sincere gratitude to the President of the United States,” Putin said.
“I know that he might be entering a difficult streak, but anyway, he will not stop trying to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”
The meeting took place Saturday during a visit to Moscow by presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The pair traveled to Kyiv the following day and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their first visit to the Ukrainian capital as U.S. negotiators during Trump’s second term.
Reuters reported that Witkoff and Kushner spent three hours meeting Putin before traveling to Kyiv as part of an effort to revive stalled peace negotiations.
“All of a sudden, U.S. diplomacy on Ukraine is live again,” Kokinda said.
“What changed?”
Kokinda highlighted Putin’s description of his relationship with the American negotiators.
“So, and definitely, when it comes to such brokerage, well, what matters is trust and comfort with those who serve as brokers,” Putin said.
“And actually, well, you have been enjoying our full trust and it’s been quite convenient for us to work with you.”
“A very high level of trust,” Kokinda said.
“Putin does trust the American delegation to be an honest broker, unlike the Europeans who’ve made pretty clear they won’t stop until Russia is humiliated or crushed.”
Kokinda placed the meetings alongside CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s earlier trip to Moscow and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s invitation to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to attend the G20 summit.
She also noted that Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, participated in the Moscow meeting.
According to Kokinda, Dmitriev’s presence was significant because the discussions extended beyond the war to possible economic cooperation between Russia and the United States.
She cited an analysis arguing that ending the conflict and sanctions on Russia could bring Russian oil, gas and natural resources more fully into the global economy, altering the economic leverage held by Iran, European governments, Britain and Canada.
Kokinda then focused on Bessent’s actions against financial networks associated with Iran and what she described as financial mechanisms supporting Ukraine.
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been clear about his intentions, cutting off from the dollar system those that continue to support not just Iran, but also Ukraine by proxy, because one was the source of the flow for the other,” Kokinda said while recounting the analysis.
“First, you cut off the oil flow, which cuts collateral chains, and then any continued flow is choked off at the banks.”
She pointed to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Saint Barth and the Cayman Islands while arguing that the administration’s financial actions reach beyond Iran and Russia.
“That’s not just a war financing map,” Kokinda said.
“That’s the offshore architecture of the empire itself.”
Kokinda contrasted that interpretation with criticism of Trump’s handling of Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Or you can see what we see: an administration that has been moving against the imperial system step by step, ensuring American energy independence, eliminating Hormuz as a choke point, and drying up speculative and illicit money flows,” Kokinda said.
“And suddenly, out of nowhere, the peace talks are back.”
She then connected her argument to developments surrounding Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.
Argentine President Javier Milei announced measures targeting companies involved in offshore oil development and proposed legislation concerning the islands while pledging additional support for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego.
Reuters reported that Milei’s actions followed signals from Trump that Washington could reconsider its position on the dispute.
Kokinda played a clip in which Trump was asked whether the United States was reviewing its position.
“Are you reviewing the US position on the Falkland Islands? I always review every position. That’s just one of many,” Trump said.
Kokinda said Trump was subsequently asked whether the United States continued to support British sovereignty over the islands.
“That’s a big trip. It’s a long way, so your country’s not doing well,” Trump said.
“Don’t forget, you get a big percentage of your of your oil from the Strait of Hormuz, and you weren’t there to help me. Your country was not there to help me.”
“For decades, the automatic American tilt has been toward London, and the president just reduced it to one of many possibilities,” Kokinda said.
Kokinda placed the current dispute in the context of the 1982 Falklands War, when competing factions within the Reagan administration disagreed about whether the United States should support Britain or approach the dispute through the Monroe Doctrine.
She cited Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger on the British side of that debate, while pointing to U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, National Security Advisor William Clark and Republican Sen. Jesse Helms as figures who took a different approach.
The United States ultimately supported Britain during the 1982 conflict.
Kokinda argued that Trump’s recent remarks represent a reopening of a question that had long appeared settled in Washington.
“But now, for the first time in decades, an American president is reopening the question Reagan closed in Britain’s favor,” Kokinda said.
“And this time, London may not like the answer.”
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