Was Giuliani talking Naftogaz-Gazprom business with Betancourt?

Here's a working hypothesis: In the framework of Rudy Giuliani's recent visit and stay in Alejandro Betancourt's castle El Alamin, talk about Giuliani's lobbying AG William Barr, the Justice Department and other officials of the Trump administration to get Betancourt off the hook could have been a quid pro quo. What could have also been discussed was Naftogaz claims against Gazprom. Naftogaz is the Ukraine's national oil and gas conglomerate. It launched claims against Gazprom on a number of issues. A Stockholm court ruled in favour, and awarded $2.56 billion to Naftogaz, which filed further claims with the European Commission. Still, Naftogaz and Gazprom are battling it out over an alleged $22 billion worth of claims.

Betancourt has a couple of interesting Russian partners in his "energy business": Boris Ivanov and Vladimir Anisimov. Ivanov, if his own propaganda is to be believed, was "Advisor to the Chairman of Gazprombank OJSC where he was responsible for overseeing and developing the bank’s projects in other countries and assisting Gazprom in its strategy of international expansion. Between 2007 and 2011 Boris Ivanov would also lead Gazprom Exploration and Production International B.V. — a specialized outfit tasked with gaining new upstream projects for the Gazprom group." Do notice that nowhere in Ivanov's social media profiles are his business in Venezuela, with Betancourt, mentioned (partners at Gazprombank Latin America Ventures).

Then there's Anisimov, former FSB Deputy Head of Internal Affairs, and current head of security of Igor Kesaev. Aside from being an extra set of Putin's eyes in joint venture between PDVSA and Betancourt & co (Petrozamora), there's isn't a single plausible explanation as to the presence of Anisimov in Betancourt's deals with PDVSA. Anisimov's "boss" Kesaev was, however, tangentially associated with Gazprom in the past.

News of Betancourt meeting with Giuliani can surely get Ivanov and Anisimov marching. It is plausible that Giuliani, back from his Ukraine foray with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, made a pit stop chez Betancourt to use him in the context of Parnas and Fruman very own strategy with Naftogaz. It would be interesting to see in the near future what further details of that Giuliani / Betancourt encounter emerge...