Kateryna Hirnyk09:45, 18.10.26

The US has proposed to Ukraine to restore the transit of Russian gas to Europe.

The Trump administration has proposed that Europe resume purchases of Russian gas “in large quantities.” The New York Times  reports that the Trump administration is pushing the idea as part of a peace deal with Ukraine.

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, Trump representatives Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff discussed the idea with Ukrainian and European officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last month.

“According to the American side, in order to encourage Russia to end the war in Ukraine, Kyiv should consider restoring the pipelines through which Russian natural gas once flowed to Europe,” the NYT writes.

At the same time, it is noted that in Europe this idea was perceived extremely negatively: it nullifies the European Union’s many years of efforts to get rid of dependence on Russian gas. However, the Trump administration is considering Russian gas exports as a possible part of a peace agreement:

“Washington believes this would bring revenue to Ukraine, and European voters, in turn, will inevitably want cheaper energy.”

At the same time, for American companies, such an agreement could lead to a decrease in demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States in Europe. And for European governments, such a move could strengthen the positions of populist politicians who are already calling for an end to aid to Ukraine and a restoration of ties with Russia.

The US wants to make it easier for Russia to export energy resources

Jared Kushner and Stephen Witkoff are discussing a long-term plan to restore Russian gas supplies to Europe, the sources said. They see such exports as one economic incentive as part of a broader settlement that could include talks on future relations between Russia and NATO, security guarantees for Ukraine and an agreement on territorial control. At the same time, some European and Ukrainian officials believe that the United States could try to get a share of Russian gas exports, which would provide American companies or the US government with a share of the profits.

As the NYT notes, although European politicians have publicly rejected Russian gas, voters in Europe – just like in the US – will inevitably want cheaper energy over time.

European officials acknowledge that resuming purchases of Russian gas would help lower prices. However, they say, it would pose serious security threats to Europe, including leaving them vulnerable to a possible future cutoff of gas supplies from Moscow.

US lifts energy sanctions against Russia

On Friday evening, Trump signed an executive order that repeals sanctions against Russia , which were included in a bill named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

The new sanctions, which were supposed to take effect on Sunday, are designed to strain the Russian economy and deprive it of the means to finance its war in Ukraine. They also target the world’s five largest importers of Russian oil and gas.

Trump also previously lifted sanctions on Russian diesel fuel. After that, it became known that the US presidential administration is considering easing sanctions on “shadow fleet” tankers that transport oil and petroleum products from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

(c)UNIAN 2026