Ukraine, EU split over US-backed plan to bring Russian gas back to Europe
The European Union is unlikely to accept a U.S. proposal to resume Russian gas deliveries to Europe through Ukraine, EU officials told the Kyiv Independent, despite Washington's belief that the scheme could help secure a ceasefire and provide economic benefits to Kyiv. The proposal would allow Russia to resume gas exports to Europe through a U.S. intermediary, potentially generating transit…
EU officials have expressed skepticism over a U.S. plan to bring Russian gas back to Europe through Ukraine, despite Washington's hopes that the proposal could help achieve a ceasefire and offer financial benefits to Kyiv. The scheme would allow Russia to resume gas exports to Europe via a U.S. intermediary, potentially generating revenue for Ukraine while giving European consumers access to Russian gas.
However, the plan faces significant hurdles: the EU has legally promised to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027, and has already prohibited indirect imports through third countries. While Ukrainian officials have been cautious about rejecting the initiative, EU diplomats argue that the Americans have been pushing initiatives without consulting the bloc first.
The idea of using a U.S. intermediary to bypass EU sanctions on Russian gas has been reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by sources familiar with the matter. Russian gas would travel to Europe through the Druzhba pipeline, a 4,500-kilometer (2,800-mile) network from Siberian gas fields, through Russia and Ukraine to Central and Western Europe.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
