They agreed to do this back when Trump was imposing sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, meaning long before the start of the Mindich-gate.I am sure Dmitriev sold the project with Witkoff to the Kremlin as a successful special operation that would delay American sanctions. But time is running out; the sanctions are supposed to be introduced tomorrow. And the attempt to stall for time has failed spectacularly. Because for some reason, Dmitriev's side decided that the White House is full of complete fools who would fall for his latest "plan.""But the White House has had its fill of Russian promises. Therefore, at this moment, it's unlikely there's a green light from President Trump to use the Mindich-gate situation to shake up Kyiv."Because weakening Ukraine is not in the strategic interests of the States (Rubio can certainly articulate this). Neither is excluding Europe from the process, as the States want to pass the responsibility for the region's security onto Europe in the future.To sum up: taking advantage of the political crisis, there will be many who want to shout, "we are definitely being sold out." For a start, just breathe out. Or even better, go for a 5-10 kilometer run.SourceAbout the author: Viktor Shlinchak, head of the board of the Institute of World Politics.The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.