The United States supports a quick resumption of Russian gas sales to Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. According to American negotiators, the move would encourage Russia to agree to a ceasefire in the energy sector before the coming winter.
According to the newspaper, which cites officials from Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe, the idea was raised by U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during their September visits to Moscow and Kyiv. Similar reports had previously been published by other media outlets, including The New York Times and Reuters.
The plan involves selling Russian gas through an American intermediary in order to circumvent European sanctions, which, according to the paper’s sources, would create a lucrative opportunity for American investors.
Under the EU’s adopted plan to phase out Russian gas, all purchases of Russian supplies must be ended by the end of 2027. European officials reportedly opposed the proposal. The plan was later shelved after Ukraine unilaterally halted attacks on Russian refineries under pressure from President Trump. In recent days, however, Ukrainian forces have resumed the attacks amid continued Russian bombing of energy facilities. According to the WSJ, this potentially signals a return to the American idea of resuming gas exports to Europe.
In the view of American negotiators, Russia’s return to the European natural gas market would be a strong incentive for President Vladimir Putin to agree to an energy truce, and Ukraine could once again collect transit fees.
White House officials reportedly proposed that Russia deposit revenue from gas sales to Europe in an escrow account in a third country, so that the Kremlin could not use the money to finance its war. According to Washington, it would also be a way to lower energy prices before winter.
The newspaper notes that the idea marks a complete change in approach for the Trump administration, which in the past criticized Germany and other countries for importing Russian gas and oil. According to a U.S. official quoted by the WSJ, Germany’s mistake was pursuing construction of the Nord Stream pipeline without “first working out a broader security agreement with Russia that would be satisfactory to Moscow.”
Although European officials oppose the idea, the Trump administration is believed to assume that Europe’s resistance can be overcome.
In private conversations, however, some European officials are said to be signaling the opposite. A senior official from a Nordic country said the idea of resuming purchases of Russian gas runs counter to everything Europeans stand for, while a senior official from a large European country compared it to handing Czechoslovakia to Hitler before World War II.
For its part, the United States now views a possible reopening of Nord Stream as a potentially important element of a broader deal aimed not only at ending the war in Ukraine but also at normalizing relations between European countries and Russia.
Oskar Górzyński, Washington (PAP)
