Nord Stream US investor talks have taken place between top American and Russian officials, including U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, five people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Oct. 8, 2026. The idea would bring an American investor into the sanctioned pipelines that carried Russian gas to Germany before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has been trying to broker a truce and views business deals as central to restoring peace, the sources said. Such an arrangement would let U.S. investors profit from energy flows to Europe once the war ends, according to the Reuters report published by The Straits Times.
What the Nord Stream US investor talks involve
Dmitriev and Kushner have met in Moscow and New York in recent weeks. It is unclear how much they discussed Nord Stream at those meetings, but two people said the subject remains on the agenda. Dmitriev, who has campaigned for resuming Russian gas sales to Germany, also met U.S. Energy and Treasury Department officials last month about possible energy projects.
A White House official said any deal would have to be negotiated with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Treasury and “must benefit United States taxpayers and companies.” The official said there had been “no Nord Stream discussions recently.” A separate U.S. official said a deal was unlikely in the medium term given the obstacles.
Sanctions and German opposition
Both Nord Stream pipelines are under U.S. and European Union sanctions, so any restart would currently be illegal. Trump could waive or ease U.S. sanctions, but that would become harder if Democrats win control of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterms. A spokeswoman for Germany’s economy and energy ministry said Germany has found other gas sources and that reopening the pipelines would need government approval, which is not wanted.
Ownership is another hurdle. Russian state energy company Gazprom owns 51% of the pipeline company, two German entities hold 31%, and French and Dutch firms hold the rest. One person said the German shareholders want to keep their stakes to preserve German influence if Gazprom sells. Before 2022, Germany bought more than half of its gas from Russia through Nord Stream. The lines were blown up in a series of underwater explosions in September 2022.
Lukoil assets and “prosperity agreements”
Kushner and Dmitriev have also discussed the sale of Lukoil-owned businesses, from oil refineries to gas stations in Europe and elsewhere, two other people said. Under that plan, a consortium of the DFC and investors from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would buy the assets while U.S. sanctions were lifted. A White House official said Witkoff and Kushner worked with the DFC to negotiate “a substantial upfront payment and profits interest for the United States.”
Why it matters for Ukraine and Europe
The report landed as Ukrainian and European officials headed to U.S.-hosted talks in Miami and as Russian strikes intensified, including the Kramatorsk bus strike and the attacks on Kyiv’s bridges. Zelensky said on Thursday that Washington cannot negotiate future economic projects with Moscow while describing the war as a diplomatic stalemate.
German lawmaker Michael Kellner warned that a pipeline deal “threatens to be a dirty deal that will cost Europe dearly.” Poland’s leadership remains firmly opposed, one person said, while Germany’s AfD party, which supports restarting the pipelines, is due to meet Dmitriev early next year about Russian gas sales.