US and Russia discussed energy deals within peace talks on war in Ukraine - Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
US and Russian officials discussed energy deals as incentives for peace in Ukraine. Among the ideas are Exxon Mobil's return to Sakhalin-1 and the purchase of American equipment for Russian LNG projects.
This month, US and Russian officials discussed several energy deals on the sidelines of talks aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, citing five sources familiar with the course of the negotiations, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to them, these agreements were proposed as incentives to encourage the Kremlin to agree to peace in Ukraine and for Washington to ease sanctions against Russia.
Russia has been cut off from most international investment in its energy sector and from major deals due to sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to three sources, officials discussed the possibility of Exxon Mobil returning to the Russian Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project.
They also raised the issue of Russia potentially buying American equipment for its LNG projects, such as Arctic LNG 2, which is under Western sanctions, four sources said.
Another idea was for the US to buy nuclear icebreakers from Russia, Reuters reported on August 15.
The talks took place during US Special Representative Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow earlier this month, where he met with Kremlin head Vladimir Putin and his investment representative Kirill Dmitriev, three sources said. They were also discussed at the White House with US President Donald Trump, two sources said.
These agreements were also briefly discussed at the Alaska summit on August 15, one source said.
"The White House really wanted to get press attention after the Alaska summit by announcing a big investment deal," one source said. "That's how Trump feels he's accomplished something."
Trump and his national security team continue to engage with Russian and Ukrainian officials to hold a bilateral meeting to stop the killings and end the war, a White House official said in response to a question about the agreements. Further public discussions on these issues are not in the national interest, the official said.
One source said Washington seeks to encourage Russia to buy American technology rather than Chinese, as part of a broader strategy to alienate China and weaken relations between Beijing and Moscow.
China and Russia announced a "no-limits" strategic partnership days before Putin sent troops into Ukraine. Xi has met with Putin more than 40 times in the past decade, and Putin has in recent months called China an ally.