According to reports, Steve Witkoff, who openly declares his intricate relationship with Vladimir Putin (he called them friendship himself), asked his team to prepare a list of entities covered by sanctions. He was also to take lobbying actions to loosen the restrictions. Politico points out that to Other players, including the influential businessman Stephen Lynch and Matthias Warnig – a person closely associated with the Russian president and the head of Nord Stream 2 AG – also strive for similar treatments.
Despite such pressure, Witkoff's ideas did not gain wide support in Trump's administration. The Department of State and Doug Burgum, as the minister of internal resources and the chairman of the “Energy Domination Council”, are to be particularly resisted. As the opponents of the initiative, Russian gas and the possible rebuilding of Moscow's position as the main supplier of raw materials to Europe could negatively affect both the American LNG sector and the economic interests of the United States.
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“In the White House there is an internal debate between people from energy domination – Burgum who wants markets for the American LNG – and Witkoff, who wants to be closer to Russia,” said one portal interlocutor. “Russia regained the status of the main energy supplier in Europe would be a “bloody bath for American oil and gas producers”” – he added.
According to another interlocutor, some in the US administration believe that Witkoff was misled by Russia as to the scale of US economic capabilities in terms of restoring business relations with Russia.
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Politico notes that The abolition of sanctions on Nord Stream – originally imposed during the first term of Trump and he cited as evidence that “no one is harder to Russia than he” – would only make sense if the European Union would agree to buy gas flowing from Russia, which, according to the authors, is unlikely.
