Credit : BRICS News's X
MOSCOW, October 23, 2026 – Russia says it plans to expand energy cooperation with the United States, BRICS News reported, as Moscow and Washington explore new commercial links despite sanctions and the continuing war in Ukraine.
BRICS News reported in a post on X that Russia “plans to expand energy cooperation with the US”. The post did not specify which Russian official made the statement.
The report follows comments by Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Kremlin’s special envoy for international economic cooperation, who said on October 22 that energy cooperation between the two countries would grow. Speaking in Istanbul at the Verona Eurasian Economic Forum, Dmitriev said: “We see cooperation in energy, and it will certainly develop with the United States,” adding that Europe would “also join”, according to RIA Novosti.
The remarks build on a series of signals of a thaw in economic ties. On October 9, US President Donald Trump announced a deal involving Russian diesel supplies, according to Daily Sabah. Dmitriev has also said that the US Treasury asked RDIF to help facilitate payments linked to the arrangement.
Officials on both sides have floated further areas of cooperation, including the possibility of joint data centres powered by Russian nuclear energy, Daily Sabah reported on October 16. Such projects would mark a striking turnaround for two countries whose economic relations have been largely frozen for more than four years.
However, any significant expansion of energy trade faces major hurdles. Russia remains under extensive US and Western sanctions imposed after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and members of the US Congress have pushed for even tougher measures. These include a sanctions bill sponsored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham that would target countries buying Russian energy.
The push for closer economic ties comes as Washington steps up diplomacy aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Putin met US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on October 21, and said on October 22 that Russia was ready to resume three-way talks with the United States and Ukraine on a final peace settlement.
Energy markets have also been upended by the war involving Iran, which began on February 28 and has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up oil prices. Brent crude climbed to around US$112–113 a barrel on October 22, its highest level since May, according to CBS News.
Russian officials have repeatedly argued that economic cooperation with the United States could benefit both countries and help rebuild relations damaged by the war in Ukraine. Critics in Washington and Europe, however, have warned that easing pressure on Moscow’s energy sector could weaken efforts to force the Kremlin to end the conflict, and have urged that sanctions remain in place until a peace agreement is reached. Any lasting energy partnership is therefore likely to depend on progress in the peace talks and on decisions by US lawmakers over the future of sanctions.
Neither the White House nor the US Treasury had publicly commented on the latest Russian statement at the time of writing.
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