NYT: “U.S. Proposes Resuming Russian Natural Gas Imports to Europe” ... Another Pro-Russian Move

[Financial News] The Trump administration is pursuing a plan to resume Russian natural gas exports to Europe as part of peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
According to the U.S. daily The New York Times (NYT) on the 17th, local time, Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff proposed restarting the pipeline Ukraine used to transport Russian natural gas to Europe during talks with Ukrainian and European officials. The U.S. side reportedly said, “This idea could encourage Russia to end the war and could be included in a peace agreement.”
Officials said, “European officials who heard this expressed strong opposition.” European countries have spent years trying to reduce their dependence on Russian energy, and resuming gas imports could increase that dependence again, leaving them vulnerable to future supply disruptions and other harm.
The NYT described it as “a proposal that completely reverses U.S. energy policy pursued for years,” and noted that “it would provide economic benefits to Moscow and help Russia regain influence in Europe.” It added that “given that Europe and Ukraine strongly oppose returning to dependence on Russian gas, President Trump’s plan to end the war will become even more complicated.”
The Trump administration is already easing economic pressure on Russia. On the 16th, President Trump issued an executive order postponing new sanctions on Russia. Before that, he had announced that sanctions on Russian diesel would be lifted.
Against this backdrop, European and Ukrainian officials also predicted that the U.S. could pursue a plan to acquire a stake in Russia’s gas export business, allowing U.S. companies or the government to take a share of the profits.
For this reason, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the move that day, saying, “Gaps in U.S. sanctions, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin—all of this only encourages him to keep attacking.”
Putin’s economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, meanwhile, called it “a significant and historic moment” and claimed, “Economic dialogue and peace efforts between the U.S. and Russia will continue.”
[email protected] Hong Chae-wan Reporter