Top US and Russian officials, including US Special Envoy Jared Kushner, have held talks about bringing a US investor into the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing five people familiar with the matter.

The discussions included Kirill Dmitriev, a close adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two men have met in Moscow and New York in recent weeks.

Kushner, who has been trying to broker a truce between Russia and Ukraine, sees business deals as central to restoring peace. A deal would let US investors profit from energy flows to Europe once the war ends.

A White House official said there had been no Nord Stream discussions recently and that any deal must benefit US taxpayers and companies.

The pipelines are sanctioned by the US and the EU, making a restart illegal without sanctions relief. One US official said a deal is unlikely in the medium term.