The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. August 28, 2025 U.S. Officials Discussed Energy Deals with Russia, Including Return of ExxonMobil --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. and Russian officials discussed energy deals during recent peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. That's according to Reuters, which reports the discussions took place during U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's trip to Moscow earlier this month, as well as during the Trump-Putin Alaska summit on August 15. One of the deals would involve Exxon Mobil reentering Russia's Sakhalin-I oil and gas project. Exxon left Russia shortly after it attacked Ukraine in 2022, which prompted a wave of Western sanctions against Russia. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that Exxon's CEO has discussed the company's return to Russia with President Trump in recent weeks. This comes as President Trump has hit India with tariffs of 50%, citing India's imports of Russian oil. .