Some EU States Suggest Resuming Gas Imports from Russia As Part of Ukraine Settlement

Several EU member states have offered adding restart of supplies of Russian pipeline gas to Europe to the future agreement on settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, the Financial Times wrote citing European sources.

Three of the officials briefed on the talks said that the idea had been endorsed by some German and Hungarian officials, with support from other capitals that saw it as a way to reduce European energy costs, the paper wrote, TASS reported.

"Advocates of buying Russian gas argue it would bring down high energy prices in Europe, encourage Moscow to the negotiating table, and give both sides a reason to implement and maintain a ceasefire," FT said. "In the end, everybody wants lower energy costs," a senior EU official told the newspaper.