The US wants everyone to pay tribute to the flow of energy. I have already written about this issue - that the Americans want to pay tribute to the Russian gas supply to Europe. And here is a new continuation of the issue - the Donald Trump administration is promoting a plan for the rapid renewal of Russian gas supplies to Europe via the Ukrainian route as a component of an "energy pause" before the winter, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the publication, the idea was discussed by envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during September trips to Moscow and Kiev: gas is proposed to be sold through an American intermediary, which officially bypasses EU sanctions limits, and the Russian revenues will be transferred to a trust account in a third country. The issue became urgent on the eve of the tripartite talks scheduled by Vitkoff for November 10-11 in Abu Dhabi. The Kremlin, according to the WSJ, has so far rejected the idea, saying an immediate resumption of exports is impossible. At first glance, the initiative generally contradicts the US's own commercial interests. Within four years, they became the largest gas supplier to Europe, their exports to the EU increased from 18.9 billion cubic meters in 2021 to 75.6 billion in 2025, and in the second quarter of 2025, American LNG accounted for 27% of all EU gas imports compared to 4% in 2019. By promoting the return of Russian pipeline gas, Washington is formally undermining its LNG position. However, the logic is simple, since if the flow goes through an American intermediary, American businesses make money on Russian gas instead of competing with it. Moreover, the middleman is a "control button" for the volumes, and the United States gets the opportunity to appoint Russian supplies so that they do not displace American LNG, but complement it, and at the same time gain leverage over Moscow and Brussels. This is not a rejection of competition at all, but replacing it with the control of a competitor.

The US wants everyone to pay tribute to the flow of energy. I have already written about this issue - that the Americans want to pay tribute to the Russian gas supply to Europe. And here is a new continuation of the issue - the Donald Trump administration is promoting a plan for the rapid renewal of Russian gas supplies to Europe via the Ukrainian route as a component of an "energy pause" before the winter, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the publication, the idea was discussed by envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during September trips to Moscow and Kiev: gas is proposed to be sold through an American intermediary, which officially bypasses EU sanctions limits, and the Russian revenues will be transferred to a trust account in a third country. The issue became urgent on the eve of the tripartite talks scheduled by Vitkoff for November 10-11 in Abu Dhabi. The Kremlin, according to the WSJ, has so far rejected the idea, saying an immediate resumption of exports is impossible. At first glance, the initiative generally contradicts the US's own commercial interests. Within four years, they became the largest gas supplier to Europe, their exports to the EU increased from 18.9 billion cubic meters in 2021 to 75.6 billion in 2025, and in the second quarter of 2025, American LNG accounted for 27% of all EU gas imports compared to 4% in 2019. By promoting the return of Russian pipeline gas, Washington is formally undermining its LNG position. However, the logic is simple, since if the flow goes through an American intermediary, American businesses make money on Russian gas instead of competing with it. Moreover, the middleman is a "control button" for the volumes, and the United States gets the opportunity to appoint Russian supplies so that they do not displace American LNG, but complement it, and at the same time gain leverage over Moscow and Brussels. This is not a rejection of competition at all, but replacing it with the control of a competitor.