Politico: Former Trump adviser who called returning Crimea to Ukraine “unrealistic” becomes consultant to Russian “Lukoil”

Brian Lanza, who was a senior advisor to Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, has become a consultant to the international division of Russian oil company Lukoil.

Politico writes about this, citing its sources.

According to media sources, Trumpʼs former adviser is now advising Lukoil in the process of finding a buyer for its international assets.

To this end, Lanza and his firm “Mercury Public Affairs” are working with the US government and have also helped extend the deadline for the sale of these assets.

Politico reports that Lanza began working for “Lukoil” in the past few weeks. He does not have to register as a foreign agent because working as a consultant for the companyʼs international division is not considered political activity in the interests of a foreign state.

Lanza himself declined to comment on the information. “Mercury” and “Lukoil” also did not respond to the publicationʼs inquiries.

In November 2024, Brian Lanza, then a senior adviser to US presidential candidate Donald Trump, said that the presidential administration would focus on achieving peace in Ukraine, not on Ukraine returning all the territories occupied by Russia. He said that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace plan, where Ukraine returns Crimea, looked “not serious”.

Later, a representative of Trumpʼs campaign stated that Republican Brian Lanzaʼs words about a "realistic" peace plan without the return of Crimea do not reflect Trumpʼs position.

• On October 23, the United States imposed sanctions on two of Russiaʼs largest energy companies, “Lukoil” and “Rosneft”, and their subsidiaries. The sanctions were scheduled to take effect on November 23, but on November 15, the restrictions on “Lukoil” were postponed until December 13.
• In early December, the US postponed the introduction of sanctions against Russian oil giant “Lukoil” gas stations located outside the Russian Federation until April 29. “Lukoil” stake in Bulgaria was also exempted from sanctions until April 29. And Hungary was exempted from US sanctions on Russian oil and gas for a year.

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