Trump envoys discussed sale of Russian oil giant's assets with Putin during truce talks, NYT reports

When Donald Trump's envoys visited Russia last month to discuss a possible truce in the Ukraine war, they also talked with President Vladimir Putin about a deal to sell overseas assets belonging to a Russian oil company, The New York Times reported Saturday (local time).

According to the Times, Putin met Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Sept. 5 and asked them to help broker the sale of overseas assets held by Lukoil, Russia's privately owned oil giant.

Putin proposed using the deal to show Russians that their country could do business with the United States. Kushner and Witkoff reportedly agreed to pursue it, reasoning that closing the deal could help build goodwill with the Kremlin and push down global energy prices.

Lukoil had been seeking to offload its overseas assets after its valuation fell following its inclusion on US and European sanctions lists last October. Despite approaching multiple potential investors, the company repeatedly failed to close a deal. The Times said US sanctions had driven down the price of Lukoil's foreign holdings, making them an attractive investment opportunity for global energy players.

Leading the investor group now pursuing the Lukoil assets is Todd Boehly, a billionaire asset manager and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boehly donated $1 million to MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump political action committee, last December, as negotiations over the Lukoil deal were intensifying.

Among the investors partnering with Boehly is International Holding Company, a major Middle Eastern investment firm whose board is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family of the UAE. Organizations separately run by Sheikh Tahnoun hold roughly half the stake in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture founded by the Trump family, the Witkoff family and others.

The Times said key figures in the investor group pursuing Lukoil's overseas assets have various business ties to Trump's children, the Witkoff family and Kushner. Meanwhile, at least two previous attempts to sell Lukoil's overseas assets collapsed or stalled after making significant progress.