US President Donald Trump said that Russia has agreed to immediately deliver over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the US and the world market after a “very successful“ conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported.
Trump added that Russia would deliver another 3 million tons of diesel fuel in the short term, depending on the condition of its refineries.
Moscow, he said, would immediately deliver another 500,000 tons in November, followed by another 1 million tons.
Senior Russian and U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump's special envoy Jared Kushner, have discussed attracting an American investor in the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which delivered Russian gas to Germany before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The talks also included Kirill Dmitriev, a close adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dmitriev and Kushner have met in recent weeks in Moscow and New York. Two of the sources said the Nord Stream issue remained on the agenda, although it was unclear to what extent it was discussed during those meetings.
“Any deals would have to be negotiated by Russia with the U.S. Development and Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Treasury Department and would have to benefit American taxpayers and companies,” a White House official said when asked about the pipeline talks. The same official said there had been no recent talks about Nord Stream.
Dmitriev, who has been pushing for the resumption of Russian natural gas sales to Germany, met with officials from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Treasury last month to discuss potential U.S.-Russia energy initiatives. A representative for Dmitriev declined to comment.
It is unclear how interested Washington is in resuming Russian gas supplies to Germany, Europe's largest energy consumer. A U.S. official said that given the obstacles, such a deal is unlikely in the medium term.
The Nord Stream pipelines are subject to U.S. and European Union sanctions, making their resumption illegal. President Trump could lift or ease U.S. sanctions, but if Democrats win control of Congress in November's midterm elections, that would be more difficult.
Germany and other European countries, which are spending billions of euros to bolster their defenses against Russia, would strongly oppose the resumption of Nord Stream.
A spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Economics and Energy said that Nord Stream and Russian gas are under sanctions in Europe and Germany has found alternatives. According to her, any resumption of the gas pipelines requires approval from the government, which does not want this.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Germany received more than half of its gas from Russia through the two “Nord Stream“ gas pipelines. They were taken out of service after Moscow limited supplies to Europe, and in September 2022 they were destroyed in a series of underwater explosions.
The talks between Moscow and Washington are taking place against a backdrop of deep distrust in Europe of Russia's intentions. Earlier this year, the heads of five European intelligence agencies told Reuters that Russia did not want a quick end to the war and was using the talks with the United States to push through business deals.
Relations between Russia and Germany have deteriorated sharply. German officials accuse Moscow of a systematic campaign of hybrid attacks, and some German lawmakers believe that business deals would strengthen Russia as it wages war in Ukraine.
The German coalition government opposes the resumption of the pipeline, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party supports the idea. Dmitriev will meet with the party leadership early next year to discuss resuming gas sales.
A number of obstacles stand in the way of a possible sale of ownership of the company controlling the Nord Stream pipeline to an American investor, as well as the resumption of Russian gas supplies. The company is 51 percent owned by Russian state energy giant Gazprom (Gazprom), another 31 percent is divided between two German companies, and the remaining shares are held by a French and a Dutch company.
The two German shareholders want to keep their stakes to preserve German influence if Gazprom sells its stake, another source said.
In parallel, Kushner and Dmitriev are also discussing the sale of assets of Russian energy company Lukoil, including oil refineries and gas stations in Europe and other parts of the world, two other sources said.
Under the plan being discussed, a consortium of the U.S. Federal Reserve and investors from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would acquire the assets, and U.S. authorities would lift sanctions. A White House official said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner worked with the U.S. International Development and Finance Corporation to negotiate a significant down payment and a share of future profits for the United States.
“Lukoil“ and “Gazprom“ did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.