Multi-billion-dollar Lukoil oil deal enters U.S.–Russia talks on Ukraine, New York Times reports

The Trump administration’s talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine have expanded to include a multi-billion-dollar oil deal, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The deal, conditional on approval by the U.S. government and the Kremlin, involves a wide network of oil fields, refineries and filling stations across the world owned by the Russian energy group Lukoil, the newspaper writes.

The White House, the U.S. Treasury Department and Lukoil did not respond to requests for comment, according to the report.

The group pursuing the deal includes American investor and billionaire Todd Boehly, two Middle Eastern groups that have done business with the family of Jared Kushner or of Steve Witkoff, and an arm of the U.S. government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the deal during his September 5 meeting with Witkoff and Kushner at the Kremlin, the newspaper reports. According to The New York Times, Putin proposed finalising the deal as a way of showing Russians that they can do business with the U.S.