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ER Editor: Somewhere the Nord Stream re-launch all sounds like a done deal, with silly theatre playing out in London to wake up the normies as to their ‘leaders’. See this ridiculous Zerohedge title —
Europe Unveils Rival Ukraine Peace Plan Backed By ‘Boots On The Ground & Planes In The Air’
Is the UK trying to pull Trump into starting WW3? During Sunday’s security summit of European leaders to find an alternate peace plan to Washington’s, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a “coalition of the willing” to step up efforts in support of Kiev.
Starmer said he hopes this coalition will gain support and leadership from the Trump White House. “We are at a crossroads in history today,” Starmer said after the summit of 18 leaders – which included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
And it’s all falling apart anyway (the Daily Mail today) —
Europe’s coalition of the willing on Ukraine splits on day one: UK wavers on French plan for ceasefire as humiliated Zelensky says he WILL sign mineral deal after Trump bust-up
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See these latest reports concerning the Nord Stream pipelines —
US could buy Nord Stream – Vucic
German factories counting on return of Russian gas – Bloomberg
Key German industrial leaders have expressed their desire to see Russian gas return to Europe once a resolution to the Ukraine conflict is found, Bloomberg has reported.
Chemical and manufacturing sector representatives argue that affordable energy is crucial for Germany’s economy to recover, the agency wrote on Friday.
European gas prices surged after the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Pipeline gas imports from Russia mostly ceased due to sanctions and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022. Nevertheless, EU nations have still been buying record volumes of Russian LNG, the cost of which has nearly quadrupled in three years, according to Eurostat.
The original report from FT is rather interesting (no paywall)–
Putin ally pushes deal to restart Nord Stream 2 with US backing
The efforts on a deal, according to several people aware of the discussions, were the brainchild of Matthias Warnig, an ex-Stasi officer in East Germany who until 2023 ran Nord Stream 2’s parent company for the Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom.
Warnig’s plan involved outreach to the Trump team through US businessmen, the people said, as part of back-channel efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine while deepening economic ties between the US and Russia.
Some prominent Trump administration figures are aware of the initiative to bring in US investors, according to officials in Washington, and they see it as part of the push to rebuild relations with Moscow.
…
The talks come as the Trump administration races to seal a peace deal through bilateral discussions with Russia that have excluded Europe and Ukraine, spooking European capitals who fear a US détente with Moscow could threaten the continent.Trump has promised deeper economic co-operation with Russia if a peace agreement can be reached. Putin, Russia’s president, has talked up the economic benefits he says the US could reap with the Kremlin in the event of a settlement in Ukraine, claiming that “several companies” were already in touch over potential deals.
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US may launch Nord Stream 2 – FT
The gas pipeline between Russia and Germany is reportedly seen as leverage in Ukraine peace talks
RT
US investors are backing a plan to activate Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, the Financial Times has reported, citing sources. The conduit between Russia and Germany, which was never put into operation, may now serve as leverage in the ongoing Ukraine peace talks, the publication has suggested.
The deal is being set up by Matthias Warnig, former executive director of the Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 operator, FT claimed on Sunday. Unnamed US investors are supporting the plan in a “once unthinkable move that shows the breadth of [US President] Donald Trump’s rapprochement with Moscow,” the outlet wrote.
During his first term in office, Trump was critical of Nord Stream 2, targeting it with sanctions. In an interview in October, he even boasted that his actions had “killed” the project.
Since the outset of his second term in office, however, Trump has initiated a notable shift in US-Russia relations, seeking closer political and economic ties with Moscow and signaling that Washington could “at some point” lift sanctions.
Warnig’s plan involves US businessmen reaching out to the White House as part of back-channel efforts to broker peace in Ukraine, the FT wrote. Some in Trump’s team reportedly see Nord Stream 2 as potential leverage in peace talks.
One US-led consortium of investors has reportedly drawn up the outlines of a post-sanctions deal with Nord Stream 2 owner Gazprom. The US investors would collect “money for nothing,” claimed one senior US official.
Nord Stream 2, which was intended to complement the already operational Nord Stream 1, was completed in 2021, but was never commissioned due to concerns over the EU’s increased dependence on Russian energy. In September 2022, the pipelines were targeted by a series of underwater explosions, which caused severe leaks. One string of Nord Stream 2 remains intact and filled with gas, but Germany refuses to use it due to sanctions and political considerations.
Russia has always insisted on being a reliable energy supplier. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in January that Moscow was interested in resuming gas deliveries to the EU, provided that there are buyers.
Brussels moved to eliminate energy reliance on Moscow in the aftermath of the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, and increased purchases of more expensive LNG from the US. Despite this, EU nations continue to buy both the piped fuel and LNG from Russia.
The FT reported in January that EU officials were considering the option of resuming Russian pipeline gas imports as part of a potential peace agreement in Ukraine, with proponents arguing that this could lower energy prices in Europe and revive the bloc’s industrial sector.
In a recent interview with The Economist, presumed future German chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted there would be no return to Russian gas “for the time being” but conspicuously failed to rule out the possibility.
Source
Featured image source, pipeline: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/16/germany-suspends-approval-for-nord-stream-2-gas-pipeline
Featured image source, Putin: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/26/europe/putin-russia-economy-trump-analysis-intl/index.html
Featured image source, Trump: https://www.ft.com/content/dc9c51ab-03cb-47ba-ad0a-09c4deed9b50
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