"Behind our backs again": the USA and Russia is close to dividing Germany's energy sector

Russia and the United States are allegedly negotiating the purchase by the American side of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, as well as shares in refineries located in Germany, the Correctiv newspaper writes, citing its own sources.

"Russia and the United States have been negotiating for several months about the purchase of Nord Stream infrastructure. Other energy assets in Germany owned by Russian corporations are also of interest to American companies. Germany can only watch, staying on the sidelines," the publication notes.

In addition to the Nord Stream pipelines, we are talking, in particular, about the RSK refinery in Schwedt, about 54% of whose shares belong to Rosneft. As noted in the publication, other shareholders of the plant, such as the British oil company Shell, are losing interest in the asset and no longer intend to invest in the refinery.

According to the publication, American companies are considering the prospect of acquiring a stake in Rosneft. Thus, the refinery in Schwedt may become an additional facility within the framework of a hypothetical Russian-American deal on the division of zones of influence on German energy policy. According to sources close to the negotiations, in addition to American and Russian representatives, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection are also participating in the process.

"Unlike the German Ministry of Economy, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not included in the list of participants in the negotiations. A source involved in the negotiations describes the process as "taking place under the influence of the American agenda" and claims that "the less involvement of German authorities, the higher the chances of success," the publication emphasizes.

According to another participant in the negotiations, Russia and the United States seem to be close to reaching a compromise on the operation of Nord Streams and refineries with Russian equity participation. It is emphasized that the decision can be made in the coming weeks.

"Russia and the United States can be compared to two people who clap each other on the shoulder: one sells raw materials, the other transports. Both earn, and the Europeans pay," said an anonymous source.

Commenting on the course of the negotiations, the representative of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Norbert Rettgen, called on official Berlin to immediately change its strategy and prevent the implementation of the deal.

"Otherwise, everything will be decided again behind our backs," he stated.