The sale of Lukoil's foreign assets has been included in Russia-U.S. talks on Ukraine

The question of selling the foreign assets of the Russian oil company Lukoil is one of the topics of negotiations between Russia and the United States on settling the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

The New York Times (NYT) made this claim, citing sources.

According to its information, American financier Todd Boehly is advocating for this deal. Under the U.S. administration's plan, Washington is ready to conclude such a deal with Moscow allegedly in order to demonstrate the seriousness of its intentions to reset bilateral relations.

The newspaper also claims that funds from Qatar and Abu Dhabi could be among the largest investors. In addition, the NYT noted that the situation in the diesel fuel and jet fuel market, which has worsened since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, is pushing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump toward concluding this deal.

In October 2025, the United Kingdom and the United States added Lukoil to their sanctions lists. At the same time, the U.S. restrictions do not apply to transactions with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and the company Tengizchevroil, while the British ones additionally exclude the Karachaganak field in Kazakhstan and Shah Deniz in the Caspian Sea.

Later, Lukoil announced that it intended to sell its international assets and received an offer from the international oil trader Gunvor. However, that deal fell through because of the position of the U.S. Treasury Department, which refused to issue a license to Gunvor.

In January, Lukoil announced that it had reached an agreement with the American company Carlyle on the sale of Lukoil International GmbH, which owns its foreign assets. The deal did not include projects in Kazakhstan, and it will depend on a number of conditions, including the requirement of approval from the U.S. authorities. At the time, the company emphasized that the agreement is not exclusive, and that Lukoil is continuing negotiations with other possible buyers.

Source: TASS