The US is proposing to restore Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine as part of an agreement to stop attacks on the energy sector.
This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing American, European and Ukrainian officials.
According to the publication, the idea was discussed in September by US Presidentʼs special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during trips to Moscow and Kyiv. Washington believes that Russiaʼs return to the European gas market could interest Putin in agreeing to an energy truce.
This involves resuming the transit of Russian gas through old pipelines through Ukraine to Slovakia, and from there to other European countries. This route ceased to operate on January 1, 2025, when the contract between Ukraine and Russia expired and Kyiv refused to extend it.
One option would be for an American intermediary company to buy Russian gas and then sell it to Europeans. The US has also proposed transferring the money from gas sales to a special account in a third country so that Russia cannot use the funds to finance the war. Ukraine would then be able to once again receive payment for gas transit through its territory.
The White House believes that such a scheme could also lower gas prices in Europe ahead of winter, especially given the lower gas reserves in European storage facilities than in previous years.
However, the idea is largely rejected in Europe. The EU has already decided to completely abandon Russian gas by the end of 2027, and European leaders do not want to become dependent on Russian energy again. European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen has said that the ban on gas imports from Russia should remain even after the war is over.
The idea became relevant again after Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries late last week. Previously, Kyiv had suspended such attacks for almost two weeks under US pressure, but Russia continued to strike at Ukrainian energy.
The US wants to agree on a broader cessation of strikes on energy facilities before the trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi scheduled for mid-November. According to WSJ, Moscow has so far rejected American proposals for such a truce.
- Reuters, citing sources, wrote back in October that representatives of the United States and Russia were discussing the possibility of involving an American investor in the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which Russia used to supply gas to Germany before the full-scale invasion.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.