“The White House is considering lifting the sanctions imposed on Russia regarding the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and other Russian assets in Europe, as part of discussions between Washington and Moscow on a ceasefire in Ukraine, Politico reports. The proposal came from Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who is set to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.
Witkoff’s idea “did not gain much traction” at the White House after Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposed it. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied the reports. “It is unequivocally false. Neither I nor Steve Witkoff have had any conversations about lifting sanctions against Russia as part of a deal with Ukraine,” Rubio tweeted. Additionally, in a joint press release issued by the White House, both Marco Rubio and Witkoff deny any discussions about lifting sanctions against Russia.
According to Politico, citing political sources present at the discussions about lifting sanctions on Russia, Witkoff “built a friendship with Putin in his role as Trump’s envoy in Moscow, and asked his team to draft a list of all the energy sanctions the United States has imposed on Russia.” In addition to Rubio, Witkoff’s proposal to lift sanctions faced opposition from Doug Burgum, the head of the White House National Energy Council and a supporter of opening new markets for American liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.
Lifting the sanctions currently imposed on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline – which transports Russian gas to Western Europe – would be a sudden reversal of American policy in its relationship with Putin’s Russia. Initially, in his first term at the White House, Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2 in 2019; later, Joe Biden lifted the sanctions at the beginning of his term, only to reinstate them again after Russia launched an invasion in Ukraine in 2022. Additionally, the restart of Nord Stream 2, which was affected by a mysterious explosion in 2022, could represent a financial gain for Moscow, but only if EU countries agree to buy Russian gas through the pipeline again – a prospect that seems unlikely.
However, lifting the sanctions would be a diplomatic blow to Russia and a major concession from Trump to Putin.”