The United States and Russia have recently initiated talks regarding finding an American investor for the Nord Stream pipeline and selling Russian gas to Europe. These discussions follow recent meetings between senior officials from the United States and Russia.
Details of the Talks
In this context, Jared Kushner, the US special envoy and close advisor to the former president, and Kirill Dmitriev, a close advisor to the Russian president and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, have met in Moscow and New York in recent weeks. These negotiations are part of efforts to establish a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
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Challenges Ahead
However, any agreement regarding gas sales to Europe is likely to face strong opposition from most EU member states, including the federal government of Germany, due to US and EU sanctions on Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2. Last year, Friedrich Merz, the Chancellor of Germany, stated that Germany would do everything possible to keep the Nord Stream 2 pipeline out of service.
Nord Stream 2 is an $11 billion project intended to transport Russian natural gas through the Baltic Sea to Germany. This pipeline was constructed at the end of the 2010s but was never put into operation after the approval process was halted in early 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, Russia indefinitely shut down Nord Stream 1 in September 2022, claiming it could not repair gas turbines due to Western sanctions.
In late September 2022, signs of sabotage on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea were discovered. In response to questions about the Kushner and Dmitriev talks and the possibility of reviving Russian gas sales to Europe, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Economy and Energy stated that Nord Stream and Russian gas in Europe are under sanctions, and Germany has found alternative options. Any reopening of the pipelines, which is not desired, would require government approval.
A White House official also stated that there have been no recent discussions regarding Nord Stream, and any agreement must be negotiated by Russia with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the US Department of the Treasury, and must be in the interest of taxpayers and American companies.
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