EU debates renewing Russian gas imports amid war tensions
Officials in Brussels are considering a return to purchasing Russian gas through the EU, reports the "Financial Times," citing sources familiar with EU negotiations. This move would be part of a potential agreement to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
The British newspaper writes that supporters of buying Russian gas argue that it could lower high energy prices in Europe, encourage Moscow to negotiate, and prompt both sides to implement and maintain a ceasefire.
According to "FT" sources, this solution has the support of Berlin and Budapest.
One of the newspaper's sources said that some large member countries were pressuring about energy prices and that this was a way to cut them.
However, this idea, still in its early stages, is meeting resistance from Ukraine's closest allies in the EU.
"It’s madness. How stupid could we be to even think about that as an option," an official from one of the Eastern European countries told the newspaper.
The "FT" notes that the renewed debate in the EU about purchasing Russian gas could also pose a problem for the U.S., which wants to increase LNG exports to Europe.
Share of LNG from Russia in the EU drops to 5 percent
Even before taking office, Donald Trump warned the EU that it must commit to purchasing significant quantities of American oil and gas, or he would impose tariffs on the European Community.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied about 40 percent of the natural gas used in the EU. By 2024, this share had fallen to 10 percent, and at the beginning of 2025, with the cessation of transit of Russian raw materials through Ukraine, it dropped to 5 percent. The last operating pipeline connecting Russia and the EU is TurkStream, which supplies about 265 billion cubic feet of gas annually to Hungary.
