Reuters: US Has Found Leverage To Pressure Russia In Talks On Peace In Ukraine

Washington is slowing down the sale of LUKOIL assets.

The United States has slowed the sale of LUKOIL's international assets to pressure Russia as part of peace talks on Ukraine. This Reuters was reported by four sources familiar with the talks.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will extend the deadline for a deal on the Russian oil corporation's assets from February 28 to April 1, 2026. Three Reuters sources told Reuters that talks in Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Miami raised the topic of lifting U.S. sanctions on Rosneft as well as LUKOIL.

A U.S. official told Reuters that the U.S. Treasury Department extended the deadline for a deal with the Russian company to "facilitate continued negotiations with LUKOIL and reach an agreement that will support President Trump's efforts to deprive Russia of the revenue it needs to maintain its war machine and achieve peace." LUKOIL would receive no upfront payment if the assets are sold, and all proceeds would be frozen in its accounts and remain in US jurisdiction, he added.

LUKOIL's deal was previously overseen by OFAC, Reuters writes, but now senior officials from the White House, the Finance Ministry and the State Department are involved in the process, three sources said, adding that Finance Ministry head Scott Bessent is personally overseeing the deal.

LUKOIL announced the sale of its foreign assets after the U.S. Finance Ministry imposed sanctions on it and Rosneft in late October. The sanctions involve freezing all of the companies' assets in the United States and banning American organizations from doing business with them. The ministry explained the measures by Russia's "lack of serious interest in the peace process" over Ukraine.

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