Trump Envoys in Talks With Putin’s Moneyman Over Russian Gas, Reports Say

Senior US and Russian authorities, including special US envoy Jared Kushner, have discussed the prospect of an American investor joining the Nord Stream pipelines that once supplied Russian gas to Germany. The talks involved Kushner – US President Donald Trump’s son-in law, and Kirill Dmitriev, a close adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, Oct. 8.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Any deals will have to be negotiated by Russia with DFC (US International Development Finance Corporation) and Treasury and must benefit United States taxpayers and companies,” a White House official told the news agency when asked about the discussions, adding that there had been “no Nord Stream discussions recently.” Business as a possible path to peace Kushner, who has been working alongside his counterpart US senior envoy Steve Witkoff to broker an end to Russia’s war, reportedly sees business deals as key to securing peace. An agreement on Nord Stream would essentially allow American investors to profit from gas flowing to Europe – once an unconditional ceasefire is achieved. Late September, Dmitriev headed to New York for talks with the Trump administration, with the agenda previously agreed upon with Russian President Vladimir Putin. His visit followed an earlier meeting between Putin and US representatives on Sept. 5, when Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow, before heading to Kyiv for the first time only a day later. Other Topics of Interest Russian Attack Warehouses of Auchan, Paper Mill, Publisher, Auto Shop Massive Russian attacks destroyed and damaged commercial storage facilities of several major civilian businesses in Ukraine overnight on Oct. 6-7. According to Reuters, it is not clear how much of these meetings focused on the pipelines. However, two of the sources said the issue was still on the table. Dmitriev, who has long lobbied for Russian gas sales to Germany to resume, also met representatives of the US Energy and Treasury departments last month to explore possible energy projects between the two countries. His representative declined Reuters’ request for a comment. Nord Stream remains under EU and US sanctions How serious Washington is about reviving Russian gas supplies to Germany – Europe’s largest energy consumer – remains uncertain. One US official told Reuters that a deal was unlikely in the medium term given the obstacles involved. Currently, both pipelines are under US and EU sanctions. This would make any possible deal practically illegal. While Trump has the power to waive or ease US sanctions, doing so could become more difficult should the Democrats take control of Congress in the upcoming November midterm elections. Germany and other EU countries are also expected to push back, as they rearm in response to the growing threat from Russia and work to tighten sanctions on Russian gas and on more than 3,000 Russian individuals and entities. The Nord Stream, which provided Europe with Russian gas, remains closed due to EU sanctions. The decision has been in effect since the beginning of the war in 2022. Germany previously relied on the two pipelines for more than half of its gas imports. In September 2022, the Nord Stream was severely damaged by a series of underwater explosions, with the latest suspect arrested on Aug. 19, 2026 in Croatia. According to Reuters, a spokeswoman for Germany’s Economy and Energy Ministry said that Berlin has since found other suppliers. Reopening the pipelines would require approval from the German government, which has no wish to do so, she added. Zelensky questions economic talks Speaking in Pryluky earlier on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky questioned how economic cooperation with Moscow could be discussed while peace efforts remained at a standstill. “One cannot… negotiate with Russians about future economic projects,” he said, describing the situation as a “diplomatic stalemate.” Zelensky has also announced that Ukrainian negotiators would travel to the US for talks on Friday, Oct. 9-10, urging Trump to step up pressure on Russia. The two presidents have previously met on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, whose high-level talks were held the last week of September. During the meeting, Zelensky outlined Ukraine’s positions on a potential energy ceasefire, trilateral talks with Putin, domestic Patriot missile production, and growing Russian threats to Europe. During the same summit, 51 countries signed a joint statement backing Ukraine and urging Russia to accept an immediate, unconditional ceasefire. So far, the Kremlin has rebuffed every such proposal. Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has become one of Moscow’s main channels to Washington. He has previously held talks with US officials on sanctions waiver for Russian oil and prisoner exchanges. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.