The European Commission has officially refused to support the US administration’s initiative for Europe to return to large-scale purchases of Russian natural gas as part of a possible peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, Brussels confirmed that it has no intention of lifting sanctions against Russia until the war is fully ended.
European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho stated at a briefing on Monday that Brussels’ position remains unchanged. “As for us, we stick to our former position. And as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clearly said last week before the start of the European Council meeting, we will not lift any sanctions until Russia stops the war. That was said absolutely unambiguously,” Pinho said.
She recalled the conclusions of the EU summit of 15–16 October, in which the European Council expressed regret over the United States’ earlier decision to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel fuel. Pinho also stressed that the European Commission continues to believe that coordinated action on both sides of the Atlantic on sanctions can play a decisive role in ending the war.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the idea of Europe resuming large-volume purchases of Russian gas. The proposal included the possible restart of pipelines that previously carried Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine. The idea was presented to Ukrainian and European representatives, including during meetings in Kyiv and Florida. European participants in the talks reacted extremely negatively to it.
Brussels’ refusal is consistent with legislation already adopted by the EU. The Union has legally enshrined a complete phase-out of Russian gas: LNG imports are to end by the end of 2026, and pipeline gas no later than autumn 2027. The European Commission has previously repeatedly emphasised that this ban is not part of the sanctions policy and will remain in force even in the hypothetical event that other restrictions against Russia are lifted.
