US envoy Jared Kushner and Putin adviser Kirill Dmitriev have discussed bringing a US investor into the Nord Stream gas pipelines to Germany, Reuters reported exclusively on October 8.

The two men have met in Moscow and New York in recent weeks, five people with knowledge of the situation told the agency. It is unclear how much time they spent on Nord Stream at those meetings, but two of the sources said the pipelines remain on the agenda. Kushner, who is trying to broker a truce between Russia and Ukraine, sees business deals as central to a peace settlement, and a stake in Nord Stream would let US investors profit from gas sales to Europe once the fighting stops.

The report adds new detail to a scheme that has circulated for more than a year. US financier Stephen Lynch pitched a takeover of Nord Stream 2 to the German economy ministry in 2025, and German media reported clandestine US-Russia talks on a revival in February, but none of the parties confirmed them. A pipeline deal would sit alongside the Dmitriev package of energy, minerals and infrastructure projects Moscow pressed on Kushner and Steve Witkoff when they met Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 5, an offer former Ukrainian deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko has called business in exchange for war.

"Any deals will have to be negotiated by Russia with DFC (US International Development Finance Corporation) and Treasury and must benefit United States taxpayers and companies," a White House official said, adding that there had been "no Nord Stream discussions recently".

Another US official said a deal was unlikely in the medium term given the obstacles. US and EU sanctions would complicate any restart. Trump could waive or ease US sanctions, but that could become harder if the Democrats take control of Congress in the November midterm elections. Dmitriev, who has campaigned for a resumption of Russian gas sales to Germany, met US Energy and Treasury Department representatives last month to discuss possible joint energy projects. His representative declined to comment.

Berlin poured cold water on the idea. A spokeswoman for Germany's economy and energy ministry said Nord Stream and Russian gas were under European sanctions, that Germany had found other suppliers, and that reopening the pipelines would need government approval, which was not desired.

The opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the country's most popular party, wants the gas back. Dmitriev is due to meet the AfD leadership early next year to discuss resuming sales, after the party opened talks with the Kremlin in September. The meeting with co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla could take place as early as March 2027, but only once a peace framework between Russia and Ukraine has been agreed, its organisers have said.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany bought more than half of its gas from Russia through Nord Stream. Moscow throttled flows in 2022 and a series of underwater explosions in September that year destroyed three of the four strings of the twin pipelines. Putin has said the surviving string could be restarted quickly.

Ownership is another hurdle. Russian state gas giant Gazprom holds 51% of the company that controls the pipelines, two German entities share a further 31% and a French and a Dutch firm own the rest. The German shareholders want to keep their stakes to preserve German influence if Gazprom sells, a separate source said.

A restart would also run into EU law. Brussels adopted a regulation in January to phase out Russian gas, banning Russian LNG from January 1, 2027 and pipeline gas from September 30, 2027, even as a struggle to refill storage this year has deepened Europe's gas crisis. Poland is following the talks and remains firmly opposed, one person familiar with its government's thinking said. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has defended the alleged saboteurs of the pipelines.

Kushner and Dmitriev have also discussed the sale of Lukoil's refineries, petrol stations and other businesses outside Russia, two other people said. Under that plan a consortium of the DFC and investors from Qatar and the UAE would buy the assets and Washington would lift sanctions on them. The Todd Boehly group separately bid for the assets in September, valued at around $20bn, in competition with US private equity firm Carlyle.

"On Lukoil, Steve (Witkoff) and Jared (Kushner) worked with DFC to negotiate a substantial upfront payment and profits interest for the United States," a White House official said. Lukoil and Gazprom did not respond to requests for comment.

Days after the Moscow meetings, Kushner said in Kyiv that he had discussed with European counterparts how the war had driven up energy prices, and he argued for "prosperity agreements" to give "leaders ... something to look forward to". German lawmaker Michael Kellner, sees it differently.

"This threatens to be a dirty deal that will cost Europe dearly," he said. "Americans and Russians will share the profits."