In a statement made over the weekend by his and his, decades-long close friend, Matthias Warnig, the Financial Times (FT),” Putinally pushes a deal to resume Nord Stream 2 with US support.”
The idea is that Nord Stream’s potential ownership by the United States may prompt the return of Russian fuel exports to Germany via this megaproject’s one intact pipeline as part of a great deal. This was first marketed in soon November  with regard to US investment Stephen Lynch’s related plan.
This time, it’s apparently being advanced by Warnig through a unique US-led collaboration involving Lynch. In any case, the fact that it’s back in the news highlights how critical the conversations between the Russian–US and British governments have been since a few weeks ago in Riyadh.
Despite those two’s tariff tensions, the argument is also valid because the EU’s European leader requires less expensive gas to fend off a possible recession that could lower the price of US exports and make the bloc much less significant.
Trump vehemently opposed Nord Stream during his first term, using the pretext that it would increase Germany’s dependence on Russia and that it would also increase the odds that those two managed Central & Eastern Europe ( CEE ) independently to stifle US influence.
However, in reality, he only wanted American LNG to smuggle Russia’s vast oil industry as part of an economic authority play. These concerns persist, but they may change as they are advanced in light of the new world situation.
The” impact therapy” that the US pressured Europe to implement following the “decoupling” from Russian pipeline gas, which nevertheless remains insufficient due to its increased purchase of more expensive Russian LNG out of necessity due to an absence of different suppliers, had serious consequences.
When there could have been a gradual transition, as Trump imagined, had he remained in power and prevented the war, the real economy suffered as a result of the sudden spike in prices across the board.
Therefore, allowing the resumption of some Russian pipeline gas to Germany via the undamaged Nord Stream pipeline under US supervision upon acquiring ownership of it would be in the US’ long-term interests.
Similar to how the German-led EU would compromise its so-called “values” by adhering to this pragmatic arrangement, while Russia’s compromise would be to surrender control of the country in exchange for faster sanctions relief.
What’s being presented right now is similar to what was suggested in this early January briefing on creative energy diplomacy.
This includes the US’s approval of the EU’s partial resumption of Russian gas pipeline imports, returning some of Russia’s seized assets as compensation for the US’s control of Nord Stream, and lifting some sanctions like its SWIFT ban for facilitating the resumption of the Russian-EU energy trade.
It’s possible that none of this will actually occur, at least with regard to Nord Stream, to be sure. There are still some factors that could help to counteract this scenario, not the least of which being Trump’s unwillingness to temporarily cede some of the US’s “poached European gas market share back to Russia or the new German leader’s goal of “achieving independence” from the US.
However, the most recent reports suggest that it’s premature to rule out Nord Stream’s partial revival, which could occur sooner or later.
This article was originally published on Andrew Korybko’s Substack and is republished with kind permission. Subscribe to the Andrew Korybko Newsletter here.