Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that Moscow was ready to deepen discussions with the U.S. on energy cooperation, including on the Sakhalin 1 project, RIA reported.
Ryabkov also said that Russia was in contact with the U.S. on various issues, and that dialogue continued.
“I can mention Sakhalin-1 as the most obvious example of the work that has begun in this area,” he was quoted as saying by RIA.
Russian president Vladimir Putin signed last month a decree that could allow foreign investors, including top U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil to regain shares in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project.
The signing of the decree came on the day Putin met Donald Trump in Alaska for a summit where opportunities for investment and business collaboration were on the agenda, alongside talks to find peace in Ukraine.
Exxon previously held a 30% operator share in the lucrative project, and is the only non-Russian investor to have quit its stake. The U.S. major took an impairment charge of $4.6 billion to exit its Russian business after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
(Reuters)
