Trump may offer Kremlin energy deals to end Ukraine war - Politico

As the media outlet writes, currently in the US, particularly among diplomats, experts, and representatives of the energy sector, there are fears that Trump is capable of destroying the current economic "ring of fire" around Russia, putting the American liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry at risk.

"The one thing that would derail the spectacular growth of the US [LNG] industry is the reopening of flows from Russia. There's no question about that," said Geoffrey Pyatt, former US ambassador to Ukraine and ex-head of the energy bureau of the State Department.

Although the pipelines from Russia to Europe are currently not operational, some sanctions are already being weakened, and certain European politicians do not rule out a return to purchases of Russian gas.

American investors are even discussing a possible partnership with Russian officials to resume supplies to Germany.

"Of course, we are concerned about the talk of a return to Russian energy, and the lack of clarity about the US’s position. But we are hopeful that we will win the argument that it would be a mistake to go back," said an unnamed representative of one of the Eastern European countries.

Trump's ultimatum to Putin

Earlier, Trump set a 50-day deadline for Russia, during which Russian dictator Vladimir Putin must agree to end the war against Ukraine.

In case of refusal, the American leader promised to impose sanctions against countries that continue to buy Russian oil and thus financially support the war in Ukraine.

However, on July 29, Trump stated that he was reducing the period to 10 days due to the lack of any progress on Russia’s part. At the same time, he warned about the possible introduction of secondary tariffs on exports to the US, as well as new sanctions.

According to ISW analysis, Russian officials are trying to persuade Trump to abandon the strict deadline and resume dialogue with Moscow.