America just offered Russia its oil market back to end the war in Ukraine

The White House and the Kremlin are talking about letting American oil companies back into Russia.

And it's part of a bigger plan to end the war in Ukraine.

So what's actually on the table? A lot.

First, a joint US-Russian oil and gas project off Sakhalin Island, in Russia's Far East. That's one option being discussed right now.

Second, getting Russian oil flowing to Europe again through the Druzhba pipeline — with American oil firms involved in making that happen.

Third, getting Russian gas flowing to Europe again, through what's left of the Nord Stream pipelines.

And it doesn't stop at energy.

The proposals also cover letting US airlines fly over Russian airspace again, and restarting US-Russia cooperation on titanium — the metal both countries use to build aircraft.

Here's the one that should stop you. One proposal would hand control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to a US company. Russia has occupied that plant since 2022. Under this plan, the American operator would split the electricity between Ukraine and Russia.

So this isn't a side chat about trade. It's energy, aviation, and a live nuclear plant sitting on the front line of a war.

The man having these conversations is Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy. He discussed business deals with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg about two months ago.

He was back in Moscow about a week ago. And the Kremlin's own camera team photographed him holding a notepad. It said "Business Deals".

That's the clearest signal yet of what these meetings are really about.

A US official says Trump's team has been talking to both sides about money. A post-war investment plan for Ukraine. And possible post-war cooperation with Russia. No final decision has been made on either.

Washington wants to push this forward at three-way US-Russia-Ukraine talks planned in Abu Dhabi next month. That would be the first talks like that since February.

And this isn't even the first attempt.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed the same kind of deals with Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's economic envoy, months ago. Those talks fell apart when Ukraine refused Russia's demands for its land.

Kirill Dmitriev said back in February that projects like these could be worth $14 billion in total.

But here's the thing. The one company actually named in all this isn't rushing back.

ExxonMobil was the only US company with a stake in the Sakhalin-1 project. It's negotiating compensation from Russia right now for its stake, which Russia seized. And it has said it has no plans to go back into Russia.

It's not clear if that's changed.

Geoffrey Pyatt ran energy policy at the State Department under Joe Biden. He says quote "I don't see any of these proposals surviving contact with reality".

That's a former US energy official saying this looks better on paper than it ever would in practice.

And Europe is already pushing back.

European governments have told the Americans that sanctions on Russia should not ease before the war actually ends. And that nothing touching EU interests gets decided without Europe at the table.

One European official put it bluntly. This isn't really about money. It's about humiliation and control, they said.

So that's a European voice saying Russia wants to be seen winning something — not just paid something.

And there's already a real step behind all this talk.

The Trump administration has suspended sanctions on Russian diesel exports. That's let 800,000 tonnes of diesel into the market this month and next, with another million tonnes agreed.

Chris Wright, the US Energy Secretary, told CNBC the move was an incentive for Moscow to end the war. He called it quote "trying to put a carrot in front of Russia".

So the diesel move is the test case. Sanctions relief offered before the war ends, not after.

The Kremlin hasn't said a word publicly. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's press secretary, didn't respond when asked for comment. A representative for Kirill Dmitriev declined to comment too.

So here's what we don't know.

Whether Vladimir Putin will take economic deals as a substitute for the land he's been fighting for. Whether Ukraine, or the US Congress, would accept normal economic ties with Russia while the war is still happening. And what Donald Trump does if Putin just says no.

The war is now in its fifth year.

And this is the clearest sign yet that Washington is trying to end it with a chequebook, not just a line on a map.