Peace negotiations between the United States and Russia could now involve a multibillion-dollar Lukoil deal, the New York Times reports.

The Trump administration’s peace negotiations with the Kremlin now include discussions of a multibillion-dollar deal involving assets owned by Russian oil company Lukoil, the New York Times (NYT) reported on October 3.

The newspaper reported that company executives with ties to U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are considering a potential deal involving Lukoil’s refineries, oil fields and gas stations around the world. The deal would require approval from the U.S. government and the Kremlin, the report said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the potential deal with Kushner and Witkoff during their visit to Moscow on September 5, proposing it as a way to demonstrate to Russians that they could still do business with the United States, The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The two envoys responded that they would work on the proposal, in order to build goodwill with the Russians, according to the New York Times report. Another advantage for the Americans is that global oil prices, which have soared following the US war against Iran, could fall as a result of the deal, following the potential lifting of sanctions on Lukoil’s assets.

Lukoil is Russia’s second largest oil producer and one of the country’s largest companies, accounting for 2% of global oil production. The company has been under US sanctions since 2025, with the US government freezing its US-based assets and threatening secondary sanctions on foreign entities that collaborate with them.

“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an October 2025 press release:

The sanctions, the first such measures imposed by the second Trump administration, were aimed at pressuring Moscow to engage in peace talks in Ukraine, as fossil fuel revenues play a key role in supporting Russia’s war efforts. The US government subsequently granted a limited sanctions waiver on some Lukoil foreign assets, which was extended earlier this year.

While the US Senate recently passed a bill that would make it easier to impose sanctions on countries that subsidize Russia’s war economy, this potential new deal could allow Lukoil’s assets to be exempt from sanctions, potentially increasing their value, according to the New York Times.

In January, the Russian energy giant agreed to sell most of its foreign assets to the American investment fund Carlyle, Lukoil’s press service announced on January 29. But the agreement remains subject to approval by the US government.

In addition to its interests in oil fields in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, Lukoil also operates three oil refineries in Europe and hundreds of gas stations around the world, including in the United States.

Swiss oil trader Gunvor initially sought to buy the company’s foreign assets, but withdrew its offer in November after the U.S. Treasury Department called the trader a “Kremlin puppet.”