US and Russia Discuss Gas Deal for Europe via Nord Stream

US and Russian officials, including US envoy Jared Kushner and Putin adviser Kirill Dmitriev, have discussed bringing a US investor into the Nord Stream pipelines that delivered Russian gas to Germany before the Ukraine invasion, sources said. The talks aim to enable US investors to profit from energy flows to Europe after the war ends, with Kushner viewing business deals as central to peace. However, the pipelines are sanctioned by the US and EU, making any restart illegal, and a US official said a deal is unlikely in the medium term. Germany, which bought over half its gas from Russia via Nord Stream before the 2022 invasion, strongly opposes reopening the pipelines, and European officials fear such deals would bolster Moscow. The pipelines were blown up in September 2022, and ownership hurdles remain, with Gazprom holding 51%.