Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev describes negotiations with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as ‘productive’. What we know on day 1,479
Vladimir Putin’s envoy says Washington is “beginning to better understand” the importance of Russian oil, after a “productive meeting” with US negotiators about the Ukraine invasion. “We discussed promising projects that could contribute to the restoration of Russian-American relations and the current crisis on global energy markets,” Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev wrote in a Telegram post.
The discussions in Florida on Thursday, which did not include representatives from Ukraine, came hours before the US issued a 30-day licence for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, in an effort to stabilise global energy markets roiled by the Iran war. The US already lifted some sanctions on Russian oil earlier this week. That move was criticised as filling Russia’s war coffers. Trump said this week that Putin, to whom he spoke on Monday, wanted to be “helpful” in relation to the Middle East war.
Russia has received €6bn (£5bn) from selling its fossil fuels in the fortnight since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, data suggests. The revenues imply Russia made an extra €672m in oil, gas and coal sales during March, Simon Goodley writes.
