US & Russia in talks about Nord Stream deal
A potential agreement could involve American companies purchasing some parts of the Nord Stream pipeline infrastructure, as well as stakes in three German refineries currently owned by a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Rosneft, the report said.
The discussions have supposedly been ongoing 'for months' and are said to include conditions for the resumption of Russian oil and gas exports to the EU.
The Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines, consisting of two sets of two, were key conduits for Russian gas exports to Europe before 2022. The first was capable of delivering up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year. The second pipeline, dubbed Nord Stream 2 had a similar capacity but was never put into service, as Germany refused to certify it shortly before the start of the Russian operation against Ukraine in February 2022.
Three of the four Nord Stream pipelines were rendered inoperable in September 2022 in an act of sabotage. No perpetrators have been officially named, although parts of the Western media repeatedly pointed to Ukraine.
Operator Nord Stream 2 AG is allegedly involved in negotiations with potential investors, possibly from the US, Correctiv claimed. The company reportedly told a court in Switzerland in early 2025 that it was 'in intensive contact with the financial investors.' A January report by Reuters said that a Swiss court had delayed bankruptcy proceedings for Nord Stream AG until May 9. According to Correctiv, the decision was linked to the talks.
A November piece by the Wall Street Journal also stated that a US businessman and investor, Stephen P. Lynch, was interested in purchasing the Nord Stream 2 infrastructure. Earlier in March, the German tabloid Bild also claimed that the US and Russia were in 'secret talks' about making Nord Stream 2 operational.
According to Correctiv, discussions about an American purchase of a majority stake in the large Schwedt oil refinery in the German eastern state of Brandenburg are ongoing as well and they also involve the German chancellor's office and the federal economic ministry.
Certain preliminary agreements could be reached as soon as the coming weeks, Correctiv reported. The outlet claimed that the deal could be part of a broader deal between Moscow and Washington about a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict.
Neither Moscow nor Washington have officially commented on the report. Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at a potential deal with the US on Thursday. 'If the US and Russia reach an agreement on energy cooperation, a gas pipeline could be provided for Europe, which would benefit Europe as well since it would get cheap Russian gas,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
Germany's Merz weighs in on Ukrainian territorial concessions
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out any territorial concessions by Ukraine as part of potential peace negotiations with Russia, emphasizing that such decisions must rest solely with Kiev. Moscow has consistently called for recognition of the new territorial reality on the ground. The comment came shortly after Monday's White House meeting featuring US President Donald Trump, Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, and his key Western European backers, including Merz. The meeting was held two days after a successful summit in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump. 'The Russian demand that Kiev should give up the free parts of the Donbass is, just to make the scale of it clear, comparable in scale to a proposal that the US should give up Florida,' the German chancellor told journalists on Monday, stressing that 'no territorial concessions should be made.' Merz admitted, however, that such decisions 'Ukraine must make on its own in the course of negotiations,' adding that 'a sovereign state cannot just decide something like that so easily.' Zelensky had previously refused outright to discuss any territorial concessions, stating that 'the Constitution of Ukraine does not allow the surrender of territories or the trading of land.' He, however, acknowledged that the land swaps were on the latest talks agenda at the White House. Following the summit in Anchorage, President Putin reiterated that the key to the settlement of the conflict is the elimination of its root causes for lasting peace. According to Moscow, Ukraine should renounce its ambitions for NATO membership, demilitarize, and recognize the current territorial realities, including the status of Crimea as well as of the People Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which voted to become parts of Russia in 2022. Trump has urged Ukraine to drop its NATO membership aspirations and relinquish claims to Crimea as preconditions for starting peace talks with Russia. The US president has asserted that accepting these terms could bring an almost immediate end to the conflict, aligning closely with Moscow's position on territorial reality.
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
US realistic about chances of Ukraine peace
Washington does not expect a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict because such negotiations usually take time, US Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley has said. On Friday, US President Donald Trump hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska for the first face-to-face talks between the leaders of the two countries since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. On Monday, Trump summoned Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky to the White House to discuss a possible settlement. He arrived accompanied by the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Finland, as well as the heads of NATO and the European Commission. Crowley told Fox News on Tuesday that the 'very productive meeting' with Putin in Anchorage and the subsequent talks in Washington with Zelensky and his Western European backers 'have been game changers for the peace process.' The chief of protocol said that she thought that currently 'all parties are interested in achieving peace.' However, she stressed that the settlement of the Ukraine conflict 'is not going to happen overnight. We talked about the peace process in the Middle East. Peace is a process.' US President Donald Trump, who claimed repeatedly during his reelection campaign last year that he will end the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev 'in 24 hours,' was later forced to acknowledge that doing so turned out to be much more complicated than he expected. Despite expressing a readiness to negotiate, Russia never voiced any deadlines for achieving peace. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed previously that 'there is no point in setting any strict timeframes or trying to fit a viable settlement into a short period. This is a thankless pursuit.' Trump said on Tuesday that Putin and Zelensky should next meet one-on-one before a potential three-way peace summit involving him. 'They had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we will see how they do and if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, I will go and I will probably be able to get [the deal] closed,' the US president claimed. Zelensky told reporters on Monday that he is ready for potential talks with Putin. The Russian president said earlier that he could meet with the Ukrainian leader during the 'final stage' of negotiations.
Russia Today
10 hours ago
- Russia Today
Ukrainian soccer player gets yellow card for speaking Russian
A Ukrainian soccer player was shown a yellow card for refusing to stop speaking Russian on the pitch. The incident occurred Sunday during a Ukrainian Women's Top League game between Kolos from the Kiev region and SeaSters from the Black Sea port city of Odessa. Referee Anastasia Romanyuk paused the game around the 43rd minute to show a yellow card to SeaSters midfielder Irina Maiborodina. The decision sparked a brief argument between Romanyuk and SeaSters coach Denis Kolchin. 'The yellow card was given for dissent [with the referee's decision]. This is a Ukrainian championship, so we are not speaking Russian. I asked the player to speak Ukrainian,' Romanyuk said, according to news website Since the Western-backed coup in 2014, Ukraine has passed several laws restricting the use of Russian in public. Politicians and influencers have campaigned to discourage speaking Russian, which they describe as 'the language of the aggressor state.' Moscow has maintained that the treatment of the Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine is one of the key causes of the current conflict.
