When the diplomatic relationship between Russia and the United States under President Donald Trump showed signs of prosperity, the world not only watched political signals, but also pays attention to the accompanying economic moves.
In a context where economic cooperation used to be the banned region between the two powers for the Ukrainian conflict, now a proposal that attracts attention is: restarting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
In the article posted on the website of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace International Policy Research Institute (headquartered in Washington D.C, USA), some analysts have once said that rare earth metals can be a puzzle puzzle for new cooperation between the US and Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin even signaled with a government meeting and media interview. However, this type of exploitation and supply projects often need decades to realize.
A more possible direction, which was concerned by US investors in Russia like Exxonmobil, is oil and gas. However, after the retreating shock from Sakhalin-1 in 2022 with a loss of US $ 4.6 billion, Exxonmobil did not seem to be ready to return. The projects of exploitation in the Arctic are also not attractive in the context of low oil prices.
The focus is therefore shifting to Nord Stream 2 - a project that has been stopped for sanctions and battle. Surprisingly, the person who triggered the idea of restarting this air pipeline was none other than Stephen Lynch - a veteran financial investor in the field of "difficult" asset, with a lot of work working in Russia.
Stephen Lynch filed for permission from the US government from the beginning of 2024 to start negotiating the acquisition of Nord Stream 2. However, this proposal has not been turned on the green light.
In fact, if the Ukrainian conflict cools down and a ceasefire is signed, the demand for cheap Russian gas will get into political debate in Europe.
Although Germany is holding a tough stance with Russian energy, the country's industrial world does not hide concerns about over -dependence on American LNG at high costs. A return, although limited, of Russian gas can bring a variety of supply and cost reductions.
However, geopolitical bottlenecks are not easy to remove. Does America accept Europe using Russian gas again? Does Ukraine approve a project that will witness a large amount of gas shipped from Russia to Europe? And equally important, is Russia ready to pump gas through a project by US investor to control?
Lynch investors sought to soothe by proposing sharing shares for Ukraine, but that "minority" role could hardly soothe a Kiev being pushed out of the European -Russian trajectory.
Nord Stream 2 is now like a card in the game of conflict. USA, Russia, Germany, Ukraine - anyone can get or lose depending on the actual development. But if Nord Stream 2 is really restarted at the hands of an American investor, it is not just an economic story, but a major geopolitical turn in the post -conflict EU.
