The UK Government is pushing its Bulgarian counterpart to sell the biggest refinery in the Balkans, owned by Russian energy giant Lukoil, to a buyer connected to London and Washington, according to several letters seen by Byline Times.
As the US and the Kremlin discuss the future of Lukoil and its foreign assets, the UK Government has quietly sought to steer one of Lukoil’s biggest EU assets into the hands of a British-linked buyer. With its vast business footprint, Lukoil has long been, and remains, a soft power tool for Russia. The potential sale of Lukoil’s global assets has become a key part of the negotiations between American officials and Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
