GOP Senators Call for Permanent Divestment from Lukoil Assets
Fox News senior national correspondent Rich Edson interviews U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about potential new sanctions on Russia.
FIRST ON FOX – A coalition of Republican senators is pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ensure that any sale of foreign assets belonging to Russian energy giant Lukoil leads to a permanent divestment from Moscow. They caution against what they term “shell game” proposals that could allow control to revert back to Russia.
In a letter sent on Monday, Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) expressed their support for President Donald Trump’s sanctions strategy aimed at Russia’s energy sector. However, they raised alarms that certain proposed transactions might undermine the administration’s foreign policy objectives.
The senators highlighted that some proposals being considered could create temporary “caretaker or custodial arrangements,” which would allow ownership to revert back to Lukoil if U.S. sanctions are lifted or if tensions between Washington and Moscow ease.
Additionally, they warned that other potential transactions might involve a “buy-and-flip” strategy, potentially placing crucial oil and gas assets in the hands of U.S. adversaries, including China. This could pose significant risks to American national security and global energy stability.
INSIDE THE SEA WAR TO CONTAIN ‘DARK FLEET’ VESSELS — AND WHAT THE US SEIZURE SIGNALS TO RUSSIA
Steve Daines, John Barrasso, and Tim Sheehy are urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ensure that any sale of Russian energy giant Lukoil’s foreign assets results in permanent divestment from Moscow. (Photo by Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images; Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The senators’ letter follows the Treasury Department’s sanctions imposed in October 2025 on Lukoil, which mandated that the company divest its non-Russian holdings to non-blocked entities. This comes amid ongoing discussions about divestment, including Lukoil’s announcement on January 29 of a conditional, non-exclusive agreement to sell its subsidiary Lukoil International GmbH, which manages its international assets, to the Carlyle Group, a U.S. investment firm. Notably, this transaction will not include assets located in Kazakhstan.
LINDSEY GRAHAM SAYS TRUMP BACKS RUSSIA SANCTIONS BILL
Tanker trucks are seen near the PJSC Lukoil Oil Company tank storage in Neder-Over-Heembeek on Nov. 15, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Lukoil International GmbH operates in various countries, including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, and the Republic of the Congo. The company also holds interests in several pipelines and owns refineries and thousands of retail stations across nearly 20 European nations.
‘THEY WERE SPYING’: SULLIVAN SOUNDS ALARM ON JOINT RUSSIA-CHINA MOVES IN US ARCTIC ZONE
A worker oversees the loading of oil supplies into freight wagons at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on Dec. 4, 2014. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The senators emphasized that the portfolio of assets in question is strategically significant to global energy markets. They stressed that any sale must guarantee that these assets remain permanently outside of Russian control. “We cannot allow U.S. adversaries to regain control over these valuable assets that have funded so much of Russia’s aggression and must prioritize bids from firms that seek to invest in and build these assets to further American national interests,” the senators wrote.
Fox News senior national correspondent Rich Edson interviews U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about potential new sanctions on Russia.
FIRST ON FOX – A coalition of Republican senators is pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ensure that any sale of foreign assets belonging to Russian energy giant Lukoil leads to a permanent divestment from Moscow. They caution against what they term “shell game” proposals that could allow control to revert back to Russia.
In a letter sent on Monday, Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) expressed their support for President Donald Trump’s sanctions strategy aimed at Russia’s energy sector. However, they raised alarms that certain proposed transactions might undermine the administration’s foreign policy objectives.
The senators highlighted that some proposals being considered could create temporary “caretaker or custodial arrangements,” which would allow ownership to revert back to Lukoil if U.S. sanctions are lifted or if tensions between Washington and Moscow ease.
Additionally, they warned that other potential transactions might involve a “buy-and-flip” strategy, potentially placing crucial oil and gas assets in the hands of U.S. adversaries, including China. This could pose significant risks to American national security and global energy stability.
INSIDE THE SEA WAR TO CONTAIN ‘DARK FLEET’ VESSELS — AND WHAT THE US SEIZURE SIGNALS TO RUSSIA
Steve Daines, John Barrasso, and Tim Sheehy are urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ensure that any sale of Russian energy giant Lukoil’s foreign assets results in permanent divestment from Moscow. (Photo by Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images; Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The senators’ letter follows the Treasury Department’s sanctions imposed in October 2025 on Lukoil, which mandated that the company divest its non-Russian holdings to non-blocked entities. This comes amid ongoing discussions about divestment, including Lukoil’s announcement on January 29 of a conditional, non-exclusive agreement to sell its subsidiary Lukoil International GmbH, which manages its international assets, to the Carlyle Group, a U.S. investment firm. Notably, this transaction will not include assets located in Kazakhstan.
LINDSEY GRAHAM SAYS TRUMP BACKS RUSSIA SANCTIONS BILL
Tanker trucks are seen near the PJSC Lukoil Oil Company tank storage in Neder-Over-Heembeek on Nov. 15, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Lukoil International GmbH operates in various countries, including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, and the Republic of the Congo. The company also holds interests in several pipelines and owns refineries and thousands of retail stations across nearly 20 European nations.
‘THEY WERE SPYING’: SULLIVAN SOUNDS ALARM ON JOINT RUSSIA-CHINA MOVES IN US ARCTIC ZONE
A worker oversees the loading of oil supplies into freight wagons at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on Dec. 4, 2014. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The senators emphasized that the portfolio of assets in question is strategically significant to global energy markets. They stressed that any sale must guarantee that these assets remain permanently outside of Russian control. “We cannot allow U.S. adversaries to regain control over these valuable assets that have funded so much of Russia’s aggression and must prioritize bids from firms that seek to invest in and build these assets to further American national interests,” the senators wrote.
