EU Keeps Russian Gas Shut Out as Ukraine Peace Talks Land in Brussels

Three EU diplomats poured cold water on any return to Russian gas this week, as talks on Ukraine's post-war future rolled into Brussels. One told EUobserver the bloc is holding firm on cutting fossil-fuel ties with Moscow. A second went further, saying there's no rationale to ease any sanctions on Russia right now. More pressure, not less, is what's needed, that diplomat said, pointing to attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The third diplomat offered the clearest signal: Brussels has had two debriefings on the US talks, and buying Russian gas never came up. That's the sound of a door staying shut.

The Brussels sessions ran Wednesday and Thursday, the third meeting in this format. Earlier rounds took place in Miami on 9 October and Oslo on 20 October. National security advisers from France, Germany and the UK, the so-called E3 group, joined US counterparts, alongside senior officials from the European Commission, Nato and the World Bank. The E3 are expected to lead any post-war peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Ukraine's side was headed by Rustem Umerov, the country's foreign intelligence chief, with officials from the finance, economy and defence ministries and from President Volodymyr Zelensky's office. Umerov said on X late Wednesday that representatives from BlackRock, the giant US asset manager, also attended.

So where does that leave things? Europe is talking peace and reconstruction while refusing to reopen the energy spigot that funded Moscow for decades. The diplomats' message is blunt: no sanctions relief, no gas, no softening.