The White House is debating whether to lift sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and potentially other Russian assets in Europe as part of discussions on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, five people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO.
Lifting the sanctions currently in place on one of Russia’s main pipelines connecting its natural gas fields to western Europe would be a sharp reversal in the U.S. policy first put in place during President Donald Trump’s first term. President Joe Biden waived those sanctions early in his term, but reimposed them after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Restarting Nord Stream 2 could provide a financial windfall to Moscow, but only if the EU agreed to accept buying Russian gas via the pipeline again — a prospect that seems unlikely given the EU’s campaign to wean itself off Russian energy imports. But lifting the sanctions would amount to a diplomatic coup for Russia and a major concession from Trump.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff has been the main proponent of lifting sanctions, people familiar with the talks told POLITICO. Witkoff, who has said he has developed a friendship with Putin in his role as Trump’s envoy to Moscow, has directed his team to draw up a list of all of the energy sanctions that the United States has placed on Russia as part of the effort, two people familiar with the matter said.
