The EU is discussing the resumption of Russian gas purchases

Author:
Iryna Perepechko
Date:

European officials are debating whether to resume sales of Russian pipeline gas to the EU to end the war against Ukraine.

The FT writes about this with reference to people familiar with the matter.

Proponents of the idea argue that it would reduce high energy prices in Europe, encourage Russia to come to the negotiating table, and give both sides an excuse to implement and maintain a ceasefire. The initiative has been endorsed by Germany and Hungary, with support from other capitals.

The chief executive of EP Infrastructure Gary Mazzotti, which runs the Slovak part of the pipeline, the other part of which ran through Ukraine and supplied Russian gas to European countries, said a potential peace deal between Trump and Russia would “almost certainly” lead to talks to restore Russian gas supplies.

But the idea of ​​resuming Russian gas purchases has already angered and angered Ukraineʼs closest allies in the EU in previous discussions, including officials and diplomats from Eastern European countries, many of whom have worked to reduce their imports of Russian energy over the past three years.

"This is insane. How stupid could we be to even think about this as a possible option? How stupid could we be to even think about this as an option," one official said.

It has also worried American LNG exporters, who are seeking long-term deals to supply gas to European companies, who fear that any restart of Ukrainian transit could make their products uncompetitive.

The EU’s stated goal is to rid the bloc’s energy system of all Russian fossil fuels by 2027. The EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen is due to present a plan to achieve this in March.

  • Ukraine has stopped the transit of Russian gas, which several EU countries continued to receive, since January 1, 2025. Russia stated that it was ready to continue supplying gas through Ukraine, but due to the war, Ukraine refused to participate in negotiations with Russia on gas exports through its territories.
  • EU countries are starting to look for alternative sources of energy, one of which is Azerbaijan. Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready to resume gas transit to Europe, but not from Russia, but from Azerbaijan.
  • Hungary receives gas via the TurkStream gas pipeline and is not dependent on the Ukrainian route, but the countryʼs Prime Minister Viktor Orban says that the suspension of Russian gas transit has increased fuel prices in the country.

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