US, Russia Reportedly Discussed Energy Deals Alongside Ukraine Talks

US and Russian government officials discussed several energy deals on the sidelines of negotiations in August that sought to achieve peace in Ukraine, according to five sources familiar with the talks.

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LONDON -

These deals were put forward as incentives to encourage the Kremlin to agree to peace in Ukraine and for Washington to ease sanctions on Russia, they said.

Russia has been cut off from most international investment in its energy sector and from striking major deals due to sanctions following the Ukraine invasion that began in February 2022.

The officials discussed the possibility of Exxon Mobil re-entering Russia's Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, three of the sources said.

They also raised the prospect of Russia purchasing US equipment for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, such as Arctic LNG 2, which is under Western sanctions, four sources said.

None of the sources could be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the negotiations.

Another idea was for the US to purchase nuclear-powered icebreaker vessels from Russia, Reuters had reported on Aug 15.

The talks were held during US envoy Steve Witkoff's trip to Moscow earlier in August when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, three of the sources said.

They were also discussed within the White House with US President Donald Trump, two sources said.

These deals were also briefly discussed at the Alaska summit on Aug 15, one source said.