NYT: US weighs restarting Russian gas exports to Europe

The United States is weighing a plan for Europe to increase its purchases of Russian gas and for Ukraine to consider reopening the pipelines that carried that fuel to the EU, as an economic incentive within a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. The proposal also includes easing restrictions on Russian diesel exports.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Washington is working on a plan to bring about a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine in which gas plays a leading role. According to people familiar with the negotiations cited by the newspaper, European countries would increase their purchases of Russian gas and Kyiv would consider reopening the pipelines that previously transported that fuel to the European Union. The initiative is part of the package of measures being pushed by US President **Donald Trump** to facilitate negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. The underlying idea is to build economic incentives for Russia into a broader agreement to end the conflict.

## What has been put on the table

The package goes beyond gas. It includes an agreement to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports and measures related to the sanctions and tariffs imposed on Russia. US presidential envoys **Steve Witkoff** and **Jared Kushner** reportedly raised the possibility of restoring Russian gas transit to Europe through Ukraine in talks with European and Ukrainian officials. According to the report, the proposal was also discussed with **Volodymyr Zelensky** during the envoys' visit to Kyiv in September. The plan would also touch on relations between Russia and NATO, security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial disputes. Washington believes that resuming gas exports could help create favourable economic conditions for reaching an understanding.

## The tap was turned off in January 2025

Russian gas transit through Ukraine ended in **January 2025**, when the Ukrainian authorities decided not to renew the agreement with Moscow. For Kyiv, it meant the loss of around **1 billion dollars a year** in transit fees. The EU, for its part, plans to end all imports of Russian gas by **2027**. Last year Russia accounted for **13%** of the bloc's gas imports, down from **45%** in 2021. Europe's decision to break with cheap Russian hydrocarbons and the impossibility of supplying gas directly through Nord Stream, blown up in 2022, are behind the EU's energy crisis.

## A winter with half-empty shelves

The escalation in the Middle East sent oil and gas prices soaring, and Europe is facing more expensive energy, pressure on households and businesses, industrial closures and layoffs. EU rules require member states to fill their gas reserves to at least **80%** of national capacity by December, something usually done in summer, when demand and prices fall. Right now the storage facilities are **73.7%** full. In a scenario of LNG shortages from Qatar and below-average temperatures, the gas price could climb to **110 euros per megawatt-hour** during the northern winter. Against this backdrop, any proposal that reopens the Russian tap has immediate economic implications, although its political and legal fit in Brussels and Kyiv remains to be seen.