Russian diplomat says Moscow ready to deepen talks with US on energy cooperation

ISTANBUL

Russia is ready to deepen its discussions with the US concerning energy cooperation, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

Ryabkov told journalists, as cited by state news agency RIA, that economic issues are still on the agenda in Moscow-Washington talks and that Russian special presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev is working on them.

“We are ready to deepen these discussions and are open to practical cooperation,” Ryabkov said, naming the Sakhalin-1 project as the “most obvious example of the work that has begun in this area.”

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree paving the way for the return of foreign investors to the project, on the condition that they take steps to lift Western sanctions to regain their stake.

Sakhalin-1 is an oil and gas project in Russia’s Sakhalin Island, situated in the country’s Far East, implemented under a production sharing agreement since 1996.

The project’s consortium was managed and operated by Exxon Neftegas, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil that held a 30% stake, before it withdrew in March 2022 following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

After ExxonMobil's withdrawal, the project's operations were transferred to a Russian company.