US rejects report that it is considering lifting sanctions on Nord Stream pipeline

ISTANBUL

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied a report that the Trump administration is considering lifting sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline as part of Ukraine peace negotiations.

"This is unequivocally false," Rubio wrote on X on Wednesday. "Neither (special envoy) Steve Witkoff nor I have had any conversations about lifting sanctions against Russia as part of a deal with Ukraine," he said.

He described the report as "journalistic malpractice" and called for a full retraction of the story.

His comments came in response to a Politico article claiming the White House was debating whether to lift sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and other Russian assets in Europe during discussions on ending the war in Ukraine.

According to Politico, Witkoff had allegedly been "the main proponent of lifting sanctions" and had directed his team to compile a list of all energy sanctions placed on Russia.

The publication cited unnamed sources familiar with the discussions, with one claiming that while Witkoff raised the idea, it "has not found much traction in the White House" and that Rubio had worked to oppose it.

Nord Stream is a network of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. While Nord Stream 1 has been operational since 2011, Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021 but never became operational due to sanctions imposed first by the Trump administration in 2019 and later continued under the Biden administration following the war in Ukraine.

The report emerged amid ongoing discussions about potential normalization of US-Russia relations.