U.S. and Russia hold talks about U.S. investors joining Nord Stream

High-level U.S. and Russian officials have held talks about bringing American investors into the Nord Stream pipelines that once supplied gas to Germany before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, five people familiar with the matter said.

Participants in the discussions included Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump. Kushner, according to the people, believes that doing business can help restore peace and that an eventual deal would let U.S. investors profit from energy flows to Europe after the war ends.

Dmitriev and Kushner met in both Moscow and New York in recent weeks, the sources said. Separately, Dmitriev held talks last month with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Treasury Department to discuss possible energy initiatives between the United States and Russia.

"Any deal with Russia would have to be agreed with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Treasury Department and must be of benefit to American taxpayers and companies," a White House official said when asked about the pipeline discussions.

U.S. officials cautioned that, given the obstacles, an agreement is unlikely in the near term. The Nord Stream pipelines are under sanctions by the United States and the European Union, making any restart legally problematic. Supporters of restarting would be relying on a potential Trump administration to lift or ease those sanctions, but if Democrats win control of Congress after next month’s midterm elections that would complicate such a move.

Germany and other European countries are strongly opposed to reopening Nord Stream. A spokesperson for Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said that Nord Stream and Russian gas are sanctioned in Europe and that Germany has found alternatives.

Photo: Kremlj)