Russian oligarchs, with deep ties to President Vladimir Putin, are said to have held secret discussions with American businesspeople on potential mining and energy deals as part of backstage American diplomacy aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Oligarchs Gennady Timchenko, Yuri Kovalchuk, and brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg – all sanctioned and with links to the Kremlin’s leader since their youth – are reported to have sent envoys to secret meetings with American companies, as reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), cited by Kyiv Post.
The discussions covered topics such as rare minerals, gas extraction, and even the relaunch of the Nord Stream pipeline, according to WSJ sources and European intelligence officials.
The talks suggest that if the war ends, Putin's inner circle could gain access to significant new assets.
Rare metals, gas deposits, Arctic LNG
The sources mentioned that oligarchs offered American companies concessions for extracting gas from the Sea of Okhotsk and potentially from four other regions. They also discussed opportunities to exploit rare metals near the nickel deposits around Norilsk - a massive mining city deep in the Siberian Arctic - and in six undeveloped sites in Siberia.
Among the specific projects, only one directly related to Timchenko was mentioned: the massive Arctic LNG-2 plant of Novatek.
WSJ reported that Gentry Beach - a donor to President Donald Trump's campaign and a college friend of Donald Trump Jr. - discussed buying a stake in the project.
Earlier this year, an investigation by Radio Liberty's "Systema" TV station found that Russia handed over its sole major rare earth metals producer, the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant, to the state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
Mikhail Kovalchuk, brother of Yuri Kovalchuk, is part of the scientific council of Rosatom. Arkady Rotenberg's construction firm, Stroygazmontazh, previously built parts of the Nord Stream pipelines.
However, for most of the other projects listed by WSJ - including gas fields in the Sea of Okhotsk and rare earth deposits - independent reporters have not found direct links to Timchenko, the Rotenberg family, or the Kovalchuk family.
WSJ also described a broader network of discreet contacts involving major US companies and investors:
- Exxon and billionaire Todd Boehly reportedly explored the possibility of acquiring Lukoil assets.
- Trump donor Stephen Lynch sought Washington's permission to bid for Nord Stream 2.
- Elliott Investment Management considered acquiring a stake in the TurkStream pipeline.
- Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov visited NASA, Boeing, and SpaceX.
ExxonMobil leadership also held secret talks with Rosneft's Igor Sechin about a possible return to the Sakhalin-1 project, as previously reported by WSJ, though Exxon's CEO later ruled out the company's return.
The statement aligns with Trump's approach of pursuing peace deals based on economic interests.
Putin's financial envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also promoted this idea in talks with Trump officials, proposing a plan that would allow American companies to use around $300 billion of Russia's frozen central bank assets for joint ventures and Ukraine's reconstruction.
EU diplomats feared the plan could undermine Europe's own efforts regarding a "reparations loan" mechanism that would redirect blocked Russian assets to Ukraine without giving the US control or profit.