The US and Russia are discussing a potential return by American companies to the Russian oil market as part of wider talks to end Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. The White House and the Kremlin have suggested that after the war ends, a joint venture involving US and Russian oil majors could be resumed off the coast of Sakhalin, an island in the Far East, according to people familiar with the matter. They were also talking about involving American majors in a plan to resume sales of Russian oil to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline.
The potential deals are part of a broader US push to end Putin’s full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year, by offering incentives to come to the negotiating table. US officials have repeatedly stated the ventures would not happen until the war was over. Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, discussed potential business deals with Putin during a meeting in St Petersburg in early September.
A US official told the FT: “President Trump’s representatives have discussed economic proposals with both sides of the war — including a postwar economic framework to create long-term growth and investment opportunities for Ukraine, and potential opportunities for postwar economic collaboration with Russia.” “Economic agreements would be included in and subject to a comprehensive peace framework that stops the killing in this brutal war; nothing is finalised,” the official said.
Moscow viewed the business deals as incentives for Trump to normalise ties with Russia before the war ends. Many of the deals being discussed face long odds due to Putin’s intransigence and US companies’ wariness about re-entering the Russian market.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing