Russia: peace talks & business

Putin asked Trump’s envoys to close a Lukoil sale to a group tied to their own business partners

$20B: Lukoil’s own valuation of the assets; price not disclosed

The New York Times reported on Oct. 3, 2026, citing eight people, that the Ukraine peace talks now include a sale of sanctioned Lukoil’s foreign oil fields, refineries and gas stations to a group led by Trump donor Todd Boehly. The group includes an Abu Dhabi fund overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon, whose entities own nearly half of the Trump and Witkoff families’ crypto firm and back Jared Kushner’s investment firm, and Qatar’s Al-Khayyat brothers, partners of Kushner and Ivanka Trump on an Albanian resort. Putin raised the sale with Steve Witkoff and Kushner at the Kremlin on Sept. 5, and they said they would work on it. Nothing is signed: the sale needs Treasury and Kremlin approval, the price is not public, and the Times found no indication that the two envoys themselves stand to profit.

Their response: A spokeswoman for Witkoff told the Times he “has no conflict of interest and no financial stake in this matter.” A Treasury spokeswoman said its sanctions office “implements foreign policy as determined by the White House.” The White House, Boehly and the Al-Khayyats’ company UCC declined to comment to the Financial Times; Lukoil and the Abu Dhabi fund did not respond. Reuters said the White House, Treasury and Lukoil did not answer outside business hours. No comment from Kushner was found.

Sources: New York Times (Oct. 3, 2026) · New York Times, five takeaways (Oct. 3, 2026) · Financial Times (Sept. 22, 2026) · Reuters, via The Moscow Times (Oct. 3, 2026) · Kyiv Independent (Oct. 4, 2026)

A federal agency would take a stake in the Lukoil deal; the two envoys negotiated its terms

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a government agency, is part of the Boehly group bidding for Lukoil’s foreign assets and is expected to take a mid-teens percentage stake, the Financial Times reported on Sept. 22, 2026. A senior administration official confirmed to the New York Times that Witkoff and Kushner played a direct role in negotiating the financial terms of the government’s investment. That would make the government a co-investor with Gulf partners of the Trump, Kushner and Witkoff families, while a rival all-American bid from Carlyle, which has no such ties, was never approved: its agreement with Lukoil expired at the end of July 2026, Interfax reported. The stake is proposed, not final, and its dollar size is not public.

Their response: The senior administration official said the envoys worked to ensure the deal included “a substantial upfront payment and profits interest for the United States.” A DFC official said the deal “would advance the Trump administration’s commitment to strengthen U.S. economic security, advance U.S. foreign policy and lower energy prices for everyday Americans.”

Sources: Financial Times (Sept. 22, 2026) · New York Times (Oct. 3, 2026) · New York Times, five takeaways (Oct. 3, 2026) · Interfax (Oct. 8, 2026)

Lukoil hired a Trump campaign adviser; a rival’s signed deal then lapsed after six months without approval

After sanctioning Lukoil on Oct. 22, 2025, the Treasury held a veto over who could buy its foreign assets, and in November it publicly refused the first buyer, Gunvor. In December Lukoil hired Bryan Lanza, a senior adviser on Trump’s 2024 campaign, and Politico reported that his firm’s work helped win an extension of the sale deadline; the same week Reuters reported that Todd Boehly had joined a bid. Lukoil signed a non-exclusive agreement with Carlyle on Jan. 29, 2026, but the Treasury did not approve it and instead extended its licenses repeatedly, most recently to Oct. 29, 2026. The agreement expired at the end of July 2026 without approval, Interfax reported on Oct. 8, 2026, citing the annual report of Lukoil’s foreign-assets subsidiary, which said talks were under way with “other interested parties”. We found no official reason for the delay.

Their response: Gunvor called the Treasury’s description of it as “the Kremlin’s puppet” “fundamentally misinformed and false.” Treasury guidance says any sale must “completely sever” the assets from Lukoil, block the proceeds and “not provide a windfall to Lukoil.” A person familiar with the matter told the New York Times that Lanza no longer works for Lukoil.

Sources: Treasury OFAC, FAQs 1224 and 1225 (updated Sept. 18, 2026) · Lukoil press release on Carlyle (Jan. 29, 2026) · The Moscow Times, citing Politico and Reuters (Dec. 12, 2025) · The Moscow Times (Nov. 7, 2025) · Financial Times (Sept. 22, 2026) · Interfax (Oct. 8, 2026)

White House weighed signing business deals with Russia before the war ends, reversing Trump’s pledge

The New York Times reported on Sept. 17, 2026 that the White House was considering signing business deals with Russia before it stops fighting in Ukraine, citing two people close to the talks and a U.S. official. Before his August 2025 summit with Putin, Trump had said the Russians “want to do business” but “they’re not doing business until we get the war settled.” After the envoys’ Sept. 5 Kremlin meeting, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said that “potential major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in some detail.” No deal had been announced as of Oct. 5, 2026; the Lukoil sale is the one the Times later identified.

Their response: The U.S. official told the Times that deals before the end of the war were possible because they would show the United States was serious about resetting relations, and would give members of the Russian elite more reason to push for peace. A U.S. official told Reuters that Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev was in Washington on Sept. 28 to discuss “possible U.S.-Russia energy initiatives after the war ends.”

Sources: New York Times (Sept. 17, 2026) · Reuters, via The Moscow Times (Sept. 6, 2026) · Reuters, via The Moscow Times (Sept. 29, 2026) · New York Times (Oct. 3, 2026)

Putin’s fund chief pitched Trump’s envoys on business deals alongside the Ukraine peace plan

The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2025 that envoy Steve Witkoff hosted Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and under U.S. sanctions since 2022, at his Miami Beach home with Jared Kushner, where Dmitriev pushed a plan for U.S. companies to tap about $300 billion of frozen Russian central bank assets and join Russian firms in Arctic mineral projects. In February 2026 Dmitriev said publicly that “the portfolio of potential U.S.-Russia projects is over $14 trillion” if sanctions are lifted. The Kyiv Independent, citing the Economist, reported that the proposals discussed included “granting individuals close to U.S. President Donald Trump stakes in Russian energy projects.” No such stake has been shown to exist, and the White House twice declined to confirm the proposal to the Kyiv Independent.

Their response: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not deny the proposal, calling cooperation a “natural extension” of shared economic interests. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said there was “a lot of chatter” that Russia may have floated private deals to U.S. officials and that “If that proves to be true, obviously that is horrifying misconduct on their part.” No White House response beyond declining to confirm was found.

Sources: Wall Street Journal (Nov. 2025) · Kyiv Independent (Feb. 18, 2026) · U.S. Treasury, sanctions on Dmitriev and his fund (Feb. 28, 2022)

U.S. peace plan gave America half the profits from $100 billion of frozen Russian assets

$100B in frozen Russian assets; half the profits to the U.S.

The 28-point Ukraine peace plan presented by the administration in November 2025, worked out between Steve Witkoff and Putin’s fund chief Kirill Dmitriev, said $100 billion in frozen Russian assets would go into U.S.-led reconstruction of Ukraine, adding: “The US will receive 50 percent of the profits from this venture.” The remaining frozen funds would go into a joint U.S.-Russian investment vehicle, sanctions would be lifted in stages, and Russia would be invited back into the G8. Most of the assets are held in Europe, not the United States. The plan was revised after objections from Ukraine and Europe and none of it has taken effect.

Their response: European officials rejected the idea; a former French official called it “scandalous” and a senior EU politician told Politico Europe that “Witkoff needs to see a psychiatrist.” A senior EU official noted that Trump has no power to unfreeze assets held in Europe.

Sources: Al Jazeera, text of the 28 points (Nov. 21, 2025) · Politico Europe (Nov. 21, 2025) · The Moscow Times, on the Bloomberg transcript (Nov. 26, 2025) · Kyiv Independent (Aug. 31, 2026)

U.S. eased sanctions on Putin’s fund chief so he could visit; he became a regular guest of the envoys

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has been under U.S. sanctions since 2022, when the Treasury said the fund was “widely considered a slush fund” for Putin. In April 2025 the restrictions on him were temporarily eased so he could get a visa and meet Steve Witkoff in Washington, U.S. media reported. He has since met Trump’s envoys in Miami (October and December 2025), Davos (January 2026), Florida (March 2026) and again in the United States in April and September 2026, promoting joint projects in the Arctic and rare earths, restored air travel and an $8 billion “Putin-Trump Tunnel” under the Bering Strait. No U.S. company is known to have signed any of these proposals.

Their response: The White House did not comment on the April 2025 talks. After the March 2026 meeting Witkoff wrote that “the teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the April 2026 trip: “Dmitriev is not engaged in negotiations on Ukraine.”

Sources: AFP, via The Moscow Times (April 4, 2025) · The Moscow Times (Oct. 24, 2025) · The Moscow Times (March 12, 2026) · AFP, via The Moscow Times (April 10, 2026) · U.S. Treasury release on the 2022 designation (Feb. 28, 2022)

Witkoff met Putin without U.S. interpreters or diplomats; a leaked call showed him coaching Putin’s aide

Steve Witkoff relied on Kremlin-supplied interpreters in his 2025 meetings with Putin and did not bring his own, NBC News reported on May 10, 2025, citing a U.S. official and two Western officials; the New York Post reported he had met Putin four times without experienced diplomatic advisers. In November 2025 Bloomberg published a transcript of an October call in which Witkoff advised Putin aide Yuri Ushakov on how Putin should pitch a peace plan to Trump. Putin’s fund chief Kirill Dmitriev, who promotes U.S.-Russia business deals, took part in the meetings. Witkoff and Kushner have since met Putin in December 2025, January 2026 and September 2026.

Their response: White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told NBC that Witkoff “abides by all security protocols in coordination with the State Department.” Ushakov did not deny the call and said: “Someone is leaking it, someone is listening in. But not us.”

Sources: Kyiv Independent, summarizing NBC News (May 11, 2025) · The Moscow Times, summarizing the New York Post (May 1, 2025) · The Moscow Times, on the Bloomberg transcript (Nov. 26, 2025) · Reuters, via The Moscow Times (Sept. 5, 2026)

A college friend of Donald Trump Jr. signed a gas deal with Russia’s Novatek after the Alaska summit

Gentry Beach, a Dallas investor who was a college friend of Donald Trump Jr. and a finance vice chairman of Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee, signed a liquefied natural gas agreement in 2025 with Novatek, Russia’s largest private gas producer, the New York Times reported on Feb. 19, 2026. Beach said he negotiated it in Dubai and Europe with Novatek’s chief, Leonid Mikhelson, and that the project had been discussed “at the highest levels” in Moscow and Washington. Novatek confirmed talks about using its technology for a project on Alaska’s North Slope. Financial terms were not disclosed and both governments would have to approve.

Their response: Beach told the Times his effort was separate from the diplomatic talks and that his relationship with Trump Jr. played no role, adding: “It’s time for all of us to work together.” He said the structure of U.S. sanctions on Novatek allowed the deal legally. Novatek did not say whether Beach was its counterpart.

Sources: The Moscow Times, summarizing the New York Times (Feb. 20, 2026)

Putin offered to pay the $1 billion fee for Trump’s “Board of Peace” out of frozen Russian assets

$1B seat fee (not paid)

After Trump invited him to join the “Board of Peace”, which Trump chairs and which offers permanent membership for $1 billion, Putin told his Security Council on Jan. 21, 2026 that Russia could pay the fee from Russian assets frozen in the United States, and that more frozen funds could go to rebuilding Ukraine. He said he would raise the idea the next day with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow. No payment or Russian membership has been reported.

Their response: Putin said: “We have always supported, and continue to support, any efforts aimed at strengthening international stability,” and said the Foreign Ministry would review the draft charter and consult Russia’s partners.

Sources: The Moscow Times (Jan. 22, 2026)

Putin was formally invited to the G20 summit being held at Trump’s own Doral resort

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Sept. 23, 2026 that the United States had invited Vladimir Putin to the G20 leaders’ summit on Dec. 14-15, which Trump has placed at his Trump National Doral resort in Florida. Russia’s finance minister attended a G20 meeting in North Carolina in August, the first in person since the 2022 invasion, which upset European officials. The Kremlin said it was grateful and had not decided. Putin has not attended a G20 summit in person since 2019 and faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant; the United States is not a member of the court.

Their response: Rubio: “We’ve invited President Putin to the G20. We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders.” A senior administration official said in April: “All G20 members will be invited to attend ministerial meetings and the leaders’ summit.” Trump said then: “I doubt he’d come, to be honest with you,” adding, “If he came, it would probably be very helpful.”

Sources: The Moscow Times (Sept. 24, 2026) · AFP, via The Moscow Times (April 24, 2026) · Reuters, via The Moscow Times (Sept. 11, 2026)