The Latest Nord Stream News Might Lead To Something Much More

ENB Pub Note: This article first ran on Andrew Korybko’s Newsletter Substack. We recommend reading and subscribing; in light of the EU meeting with Mark Carney in three weeks, this has some interesting background links. Power is an issue in the EU. – Just saying. 

Regardless of however the “friendly competition” evolves between Germany and Poland over leading NATO 3.0 , one thing is certain, and it’s that US-led creative energy diplomacy will likely shape the post-war European security architecture.

Reuters cited five unnamed sources to report that US Special Envoy for Russia Jared Kushner held talks with his Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev about getting a US investor involved in the Nord Stream pipeline that still has one undamaged segment out of four after September 2022’s terrorist attack. What makes this report credible despite the innate doubts that some skeptics might have is the context in which it was published that will now be briefly reviewed before elaborating more on the report itself.

The Atlantic reported in late September that Trump authorized his Special Envoy to Belarus John Coale to convince Putin to release “political prisoners” in exchange for sanctions relief following the arrangement that he reached with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. This shortly followed what The New Yorker reported in mid-September about how a European spy service caught wind that “Trump and people around him” are considering “reopening the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under American control”.

A few days after that, the New York Times (NYT) reported in early October that “U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies” regarding Lukoil’s global assets, which Trump sanctioned a year ago. Those skeptics who might scoff that these reports are either fake news or a means of manipulating Russia into concessions without anything in return should know that Belarus just sent the US 30,000 tons of potash after the US lifted some sanctions and returned some frozen funds.

This follows Trump boasting about the “massive” potash deal that he and Lukashenko are negotiating, which prompted Lukashenko to propose that the US invest in a fertilizer plant in Belarus together with it and Russia. These fast-moving developments, both the US-Belarusian détente and the spree of reports about US-Russian resource deals, coincide with a NYT report that Putin is preparing to finally bring Ukraine to its knees after nearly five years through systematic infrastructure strikes over the winter.

This analysis here assessed that it’s true and driven by Putin having reportedly been informed by his Finance Minister following talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that (at least significant) sanctions relief of the sort described above can only follow the end of the Ukrainian Conflict. The sooner that the conflict ends, the sooner that Russia can receive such relief for stimulating economic growth amidst the ongoing slowdown and establishing a resource-centric strategic partnership with the US.

The implications were earlier elaborated on here and here, but the Nord Stream dimension thereof that Reuters just reported is being discussed could restore Russia’s dialogue with the EU’s de facto German leader, thus paving the way for military de-escalation. The US’ NATO 3.0 concept envisages European NATO leading Russia’s containment, which could either worsen tensions if Germany’s remilitarization poses a 1941-like threat or result in a new energy-driven modus vivendi under the US’ supervision.

With a view towards best managing the post-war Russian-German relations that might soon rebound with none other than the US’ approval, Poland could make the first move in improving ties with Russia by building upon its new “snowdrop diplomacy” with Belarus. Regardless of however the “friendly competition” between Germany and Poland over leading NATO 3.0 evolves, one thing is certain, and it’s that US-led creative energy diplomacy will likely shape the post-war European security architecture.