MOSCOW (Reuters) – The issue of Russian gas shipments to Europe is being discussed at talks between Russia and the United States, state news agency TASS quoted a Kremlin official as saying on Friday, confirming an exclusive report by Reuters a day earlier.
Russian gas exports to Europe were slashed after the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were blown up in 2022. At the start of this year, gas flows via Ukraine came to a halt after Kyiv refused to renew a transit agreement because of the war.
Now, however, U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for peace in Ukraine, raising the prospects of a thaw in gas ties. Eight sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters that officials from Washington and Moscow have held discussions about the U.S. helping to revive Russian gas sales to the continent.
Sources close to the bilateral discussions said carving out a renewed role for Moscow in the European Union’s gas market could help cement a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are raising this issue with the Americans,” Interfax news agency quoted senior Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov as saying in when asked if the revival of Russian gas supplies was under discussion.
(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Vladimir Soldatkin, editing by Mark Trevelyan)
