The European Union neither wants nor has any plans to resume purchases of Russian gas, EU diplomats told EUobserver as European, U.S., and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Brussels to discuss post-war recovery in Ukraine ahead of next week’s US-Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
“We don’t see any rationale at the moment to ease sanctions or restrictions on Russia, in any sector,” an EU diplomat told EUobserver. “On the contrary, in light of the barbaric and cynical attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, we see that more pressure and restrictions are needed.”
The EU and Ukraine discussed on Wednesday with U.S. officials the economic recovery and funding requirements for Ukraine.
The United States has discussed with Russia the possibility of restoring natural gas flows to Europe via pipelines running through Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unnamed sources involved in the talks.
Commenting on the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “Frankly, the situation on the ground speaks all too clearly to the fact that those kinds of plans are impossible to implement right now.”
Following the talks in Brussels on Wednesday, another EU diplomat told EUobserver “We’ve had two debriefings about talks with the US – buying Russian gas was not mentioned”.
On Thursday, Ukraine, the EU, and U.S. officials are discussing security guarantees for Ukraine, as anticipated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late on Wednesday.
Following a call with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Wednesday, Zelenskyy posted on X that “The negotiations must move forward at full throttle to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible. Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps. Our proposals are clear, and we have given them to the American side.”
Starting on November 10 in Abu Dhabi, the U.S. will lead Ukraine-Russia talks on ending the war.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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