The Economic Motivations: The push comes as global fuel costs reach critical levels, heavily impacted by the conflict in the Middle East and ongoing strikes on energy infrastructure. The administration previously closed a deal for Russia to supply diesel to global markets in an explicit attempt to drive down consumer prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
“The U.S. is backing a quick resumption of Russian natural-gas sales to Europe via pipelines running through Moscow's wartime enemy -- Ukraine -- as part of negotiations aimed at securing an energy ceasefire ahead of the coming winter, U.S., European and Ukrainian officials said.
The idea, broached by U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during trips to Moscow and Kyiv in September, would involve selling Russian gas via a U.S. intermediary to circumvent European sanctions -- and could create a lucrative opportunity for American investors, people who attended the discussions said.
Under current European Union legislation, all purchases of Russian natural gas must be phased out by the end of 2027. Leaders of Europe's biggest nations have said they have no interest in restoring their dependence on energy supplies from a nation they view as their top strategic threat.
The plan was put on the back burner last month after Ukraine unilaterally stopped striking Russian refineries under pressure from President Trump. Kyiv paused strikes on Russian refineries for almost two weeks as Russia continued pounding Ukraine's energy infrastructure and as Moscow began shipping diesel to the U.S.
Kyiv, however, resumed its air campaign on Friday, launching three attacks on three major Russian refineries in the past three days. This has brought new urgency to the pursuit of a more comprehensive energy ceasefire ahead of three-way peace negotiations that are planned between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine for mid-November in Abu Dhabi. Russia has rebuffed U.S. attempts to strike such a deal.
In the view of U.S. negotiators, a Russian comeback to the European natural-gas market would create a powerful incentive for President Vladimir Putin to agree. Using the Soviet-era pipeline network that runs to Europe via Ukraine from the Urengoi gas fields in Siberia would also provide Kyiv with badly needed revenue from transit fees.
White House officials proposed that Russia deposit proceeds from gas sales to Europe into an escrow account in a third-party jurisdiction, so the Kremlin won't use the money to finance its war, a senior U.S. official said.
They have tried to sell the idea to European leaders as a way to lower energy prices ahead of a winter when Europe's gas reserves have reached their lowest seasonal level in several years.
Such pressure represents a complete about-face from Trump's first administration. Back then, Trump repeatedly chastised German Chancellor Angela Merkel for building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia. He warned that Nord Stream 2 would make Germany "captive to Russia," and, in late 2019, imposed sanctions on it.
The Ukraine events prompted the Europeans to view dependence on Russian natural gas a strategic vulnerability. The EU has passed legislation sharply curtailing Russian gas imports and outlawing them altogether by the end of next year. The current official European position is that the EU won't resume purchases of Russian gas even after a full peace agreement with Russia, let alone as part of a tenuous energy ceasefire.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, in an interview with a Hungarian newspaper in October that his office has confirmed, said the ban on Russian gas imports should be permanent.
The Trump administration is wagering that European resistance will prove to be less rigid than meets the eye, but in private, some senior European officials are more blunt. A senior Nordic official said the idea of resuming Russian gas purchases goes against everything the Europeans stand for.
The U.S. now sees an eventual reopening of Nord Stream as a potentially important component of a larger deal, not just to end the conflict in Ukraine but also to resolve Russia's longstanding friction with the U.S.'s European allies.
Merkel's mistake, a senior U.S. official said, was to pursue the pipeline without first working toward a wider security arrangement with Russia with which Moscow could feel comfortable.
A U.S. official said negotiators had discussed various economic proposals throughout negotiations. Europeans have expressed interest in a proposal that would drastically reduce gas prices across the Continent, the official said, adding that any economic agreements would be part of a comprehensive peace deal.
Today, just 11% of Europe's natural gas comes from Russia, down from 45% on the eve of the Ukraine events. U.S. liquefied-natural gas accounts for 30% of European consumption, while Russian gas is imported either via LNG tankers or through the TurkStream pipelines supplying Hungary and Slovakia.
The fallout from Trump's war on Iran could erode Europe's resistance, European officials acknowledge. Qatari liquefied-natural gas shipments remain bottled up inside the Persian Gulf, and a global surge in energy prices has continued even with more oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Europe has spent an additional 100 billion euros, about $112 billion, on energy as the result of the war with Iran, according to the EU.
Europe's underground natural-gas storage is about 75% full, and the Continent will enter the coming winter with stocks below the nine-year average, the EU's energy regulators said.
It would be easier for Europe to change its position if Kyiv endorsed the gas sales as part of a ceasefire that would prevent energy blackouts and a possible humanitarian catastrophe in major Ukrainian cities, potentially triggering a new exodus of refugees in coming months, diplomats said. That is especially so as Ukraine has run out of air defenses, with the U.S. restricting supplies of Patriot interceptors amid a global shortage caused by the war on Iran.” [1]
1. U.S. Urges Restart Of Russia Gas Sales. Trofimov, Yaroslav; Hinshaw, Drew; Parkinson, Joe. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 02 Nov 2026: A1.
“The U.S. is backing a quick resumption of Russian natural-gas sales to Europe via pipelines running through Moscow's wartime enemy -- Ukraine -- as part of negotiations aimed at securing an energy ceasefire ahead of the coming winter, U.S., European and Ukrainian officials said.
The idea, broached by U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during trips to Moscow and Kyiv in September, would involve selling Russian gas via a U.S. intermediary to circumvent European sanctions -- and could create a lucrative opportunity for American investors, people who attended the discussions said.
Under current European Union legislation, all purchases of Russian natural gas must be phased out by the end of 2027. Leaders of Europe's biggest nations have said they have no interest in restoring their dependence on energy supplies from a nation they view as their top strategic threat.
The plan was put on the back burner last month after Ukraine unilaterally stopped striking Russian refineries under pressure from President Trump. Kyiv paused strikes on Russian refineries for almost two weeks as Russia continued pounding Ukraine's energy infrastructure and as Moscow began shipping diesel to the U.S.
Kyiv, however, resumed its air campaign on Friday, launching three attacks on three major Russian refineries in the past three days. This has brought new urgency to the pursuit of a more comprehensive energy ceasefire ahead of three-way peace negotiations that are planned between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine for mid-November in Abu Dhabi. Russia has rebuffed U.S. attempts to strike such a deal.
In the view of U.S. negotiators, a Russian comeback to the European natural-gas market would create a powerful incentive for President Vladimir Putin to agree. Using the Soviet-era pipeline network that runs to Europe via Ukraine from the Urengoi gas fields in Siberia would also provide Kyiv with badly needed revenue from transit fees.
White House officials proposed that Russia deposit proceeds from gas sales to Europe into an escrow account in a third-party jurisdiction, so the Kremlin won't use the money to finance its war, a senior U.S. official said.
They have tried to sell the idea to European leaders as a way to lower energy prices ahead of a winter when Europe's gas reserves have reached their lowest seasonal level in several years.
Such pressure represents a complete about-face from Trump's first administration. Back then, Trump repeatedly chastised German Chancellor Angela Merkel for building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia. He warned that Nord Stream 2 would make Germany "captive to Russia," and, in late 2019, imposed sanctions on it.
The Ukraine events prompted the Europeans to view dependence on Russian natural gas a strategic vulnerability. The EU has passed legislation sharply curtailing Russian gas imports and outlawing them altogether by the end of next year. The current official European position is that the EU won't resume purchases of Russian gas even after a full peace agreement with Russia, let alone as part of a tenuous energy ceasefire.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, in an interview with a Hungarian newspaper in October that his office has confirmed, said the ban on Russian gas imports should be permanent.
The Trump administration is wagering that European resistance will prove to be less rigid than meets the eye, but in private, some senior European officials are more blunt. A senior Nordic official said the idea of resuming Russian gas purchases goes against everything the Europeans stand for.
The U.S. now sees an eventual reopening of Nord Stream as a potentially important component of a larger deal, not just to end the conflict in Ukraine but also to resolve Russia's longstanding friction with the U.S.'s European allies.
Merkel's mistake, a senior U.S. official said, was to pursue the pipeline without first working toward a wider security arrangement with Russia with which Moscow could feel comfortable.
A U.S. official said negotiators had discussed various economic proposals throughout negotiations. Europeans have expressed interest in a proposal that would drastically reduce gas prices across the Continent, the official said, adding that any economic agreements would be part of a comprehensive peace deal.
Today, just 11% of Europe's natural gas comes from Russia, down from 45% on the eve of the Ukraine events. U.S. liquefied-natural gas accounts for 30% of European consumption, while Russian gas is imported either via LNG tankers or through the TurkStream pipelines supplying Hungary and Slovakia.
The fallout from Trump's war on Iran could erode Europe's resistance, European officials acknowledge. Qatari liquefied-natural gas shipments remain bottled up inside the Persian Gulf, and a global surge in energy prices has continued even with more oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Europe has spent an additional 100 billion euros, about $112 billion, on energy as the result of the war with Iran, according to the EU.
Europe's underground natural-gas storage is about 75% full, and the Continent will enter the coming winter with stocks below the nine-year average, the EU's energy regulators said.
It would be easier for Europe to change its position if Kyiv endorsed the gas sales as part of a ceasefire that would prevent energy blackouts and a possible humanitarian catastrophe in major Ukrainian cities, potentially triggering a new exodus of refugees in coming months, diplomats said. That is especially so as Ukraine has run out of air defenses, with the U.S. restricting supplies of Patriot interceptors amid a global shortage caused by the war on Iran.” [1]
1. U.S. Urges Restart Of Russia Gas Sales. Trofimov, Yaroslav; Hinshaw, Drew; Parkinson, Joe. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 02 Nov 2026: A1.
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