European Union discussions are due to Russian gas as part of the Ukraine peace agreement

Stay in view of the free updates

Simply subscribe to War in Ukraine Myft Digest – it is delivered directly to your inbox.

European officials discuss whether Russian pipeline gas sales should be restarted to the European Union as part of a possible settlement to end the war against Ukraine, according to persons familiar with the discussions.

Advocates of the purchase of Russian gas will argue that it will lead to a decrease in high energy prices in Europe, encourage Moscow at the negotiating table, and gives both sides a reason to implement and maintain the ceasefire.

But raising the idea of ​​reopening Russian gas flows to Europe, even in preliminary discussions, has already sparked a violent reaction to the closest Alliance of Ukraine in the European Union.

Three officials who were briefed on the talks said that the idea was approved by some German and Energy officials, with the support of other capitals that it saw as a way to reduce European energy costs.

One of the officials said: “There is pressure from some major member states on energy prices, and this is one way to reduce them, of course.”

The resumption of exports to Europe will significantly increase Moscow’s revenues. Before the war, the flow across the pipelines from Russia accounted for about 40 percent of the total supplies in the European Union, as Germany was the largest importer.

Donald Trump demanded an end to the war “soon”, which prompted discussions between Western capitals on the elements necessary for a permanent agreement with Moscow. The US President also threatened the European Union with definitions unless he buys more LNG from America, which is more expensive than gas.

The sympathy of the resumption of sales of pipelines from Russia led to the anger of Brussels and diplomats from some Eastern European countries, many of whom have spent the past three years working to reduce the amount of Russian energy that is imported to the bloc.

One of the officials said: “It is madness.” “How stupid is to think about it as an option?”

Ukrainian President Folodimir Zelinski said on Wednesday: “Ending the hot stage of the war is very important. Diplomatic solutions are the best – fewer losses, and less losses.” His office did not respond to a request to comment on the discussion about the resumption of Russian gas purchases.

Reviving the debate on gas sales led to the instability of some exporters of liquefied natural gas in the United States who seek to sign long -term latitudes with European companies. They are afraid that any restart of Ukrainian transit can make their products not competitive, according to two officials.

One of the senior energy officials at European Commission Diet Jool Juergen at the United States’ meeting of exporters of LNG this week, to hold talks in touch in the long run.

The declared goal of the European Union is to rid the power system in the mass of all Russian fossil fuels by 2027. It is scheduled that the European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jurgeninn will present a plan to strike this goal in March.

But the terrible straits of heavy industries in the European Union have increased the need for European countries to obtain cheaper energy. Gas costs in Europe are usually higher than three to four times than they were in the United States.

The pipe gas from Russia reached about 10 percent of the total offer in 2024, but it decreased in half since the union’s transfer contract ended to reach the European Union via Ukraine in January.

The remaining tube that brings Russian gas to the block is the turkstream line through Türkiye, which provides Hungary about 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas. Budapest, along with the government loyal to Russia in Slovakia, is pressing the European Union to pressure Ukraine to restart the transit of gas.

“In the end, everyone wants a decrease in energy costs,” said a senior European Union official.