MOSCOW: Russia is not aware of the possibility that Washington may want to sign deals with Moscow before the Ukraine conflict is over, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told a state news agency on Saturday.

The New York Times reported this week, citing two people close to the peace talks, that the White House is now considering signing business deals with Russia before it stops fighting in Ukraine.

“I don’t know anything about such signals, and it would be strange to receive them, because we still hear exactly the opposite stance, namely, ‘Let’s agree on Ukraine and move forward, and everything else later’,” Ryabkov told RIA.

“Everything else, as they say, will be attached. This also applies to economic aspects, economic projects, too.”

US approval

The US State Department approved a potential $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air defence development upgrades and related equipment and services, the department said in a congressional notification late on Friday.

If the purchase is concluded, Ukraine would finance it using a combination of European contributions and US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) appropriated during the administration of former president Joe Biden, the State Department said in the notification.

The FMF provides grant assistance that enables countries to purchase weapons and defense equipment produced in the United States.

“The FMF will be counted as a US capital contribution to the Ukraine Reconstruction Invest­ment Fund via a 1:1 reimbursement,” the State Department said.

The US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund was established as part of a minerals deal signed between the US and Ukraine last year.

The package includes S-300 clone missiles, GAM-67 missiles, range-extended air defence laser-guided rocket missile systems, launcher and mobile launching system modification kits and counter-drone system radars, among other weapons systems, the State Department said.

Belarus carries out drills

Belarus carried out military drills near its western border with the European Union earlier this week, the Russian-allied country’s defence ministry said on social media.

The drills come amid heightened tensions between Russia and Europe over the Ukraine war.

Belarus routinely carries out military drills, sometimes alongside Russia.

The ministry said the exercises, parts of which were held in regions neighbouring Nato members Poland and Lithuania, were “strictly defensive in nature”.

“It is aimed, among other things, at enhancing the ability of the soldiers to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state,” it said. The exercises took place from Tuesday to Friday, the ministry said.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2026