The United States is using the suspension of sales of international assets of the Russian oil giant Lukoil as leverage against the Russian side in the Ukraine peace talks. According to Apostrophe, Reuters reports this, citing four informed sources. PromPolitInform reports.
According to the sources, the issue of sanctions against the oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft was raised during preliminary talks in Switzerland, the UAE, and the United States.
They claim that the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) must renew the general license on February 26. As a result, the deadline for concluding potential agreements on Lukoil assets will be changed from February 28 to April 1 of this year. Thus, the Treasury Department will postpone the date to facilitate ongoing negotiations with Lukoil and reach an agreement that supports the US President’s efforts “to deprive Russia of the revenue it needs to finance its war machine and to achieve peace.”
According to sources, any agreement will stipulate that Lukoil will not receive an advance payment; all proceeds from sales will be placed in a blocked account under US jurisdiction.
“The US has slowed the sale of international assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil to pressure Russia in Ukraine peace talks… On Thursday, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control will extend the agreement deadline from February 28 to April 1, an OFAC document showed,” Reuters reports.
As Apostrophe reported, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are seeking to end the war in Ukraine in the coming months. This was discussed during a telephone conversation between the two leaders on February 25. On February 26, US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff will discuss further steps toward a peaceful resolution with National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov in Geneva.
