Putin pitched Lukoil oil deal to Kushner and Witkoff — SkimNews
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- Trump administration talks with Russia on ending the Ukraine war have expanded to include a multibillion-dollar oil deal tied to Russian energy group Lukoil's sprawling global portfolio of oil fields, refineries, and gas stations, the New York Times reported on October 3, 2026.
- Vladimir Putin personally raised the proposal during a September 5 meeting at the Kremlin with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, framing it as a way to show Russians they could do business with the United States.
- The pursuing group includes U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly, two West Asian groups with prior business ties to Kushner or Witkoff's families, and an arm of the U.S. government — with the deal contingent on approval from both Washington and the Kremlin.
- Lukoil's worldwide network of oil fields, refineries, and gas stations forms the core assets under discussion, though the company, the White House, and the U.S. Treasury Department all declined to comment outside regular business hours.
Why it matters: Putin pitched this deal directly to Kushner and Witkoff on September 5 — the same envoys negotiating the Ukraine war's end. The package routes Lukoil's worldwide oil fields and refineries toward an investor group that includes Boehly and West Asian firms with family-level ties to those U.S. negotiators, fusing private commercial interests with top-level diplomacy on a multibillion-dollar scale.
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