The United States of America, to help Europe cut off from Russian gas, has promised to commit 15 billion cubic meters more of liquefied natural gas to ease the energy crisis.
According to AFP, the United States and the European Union announced on Friday the creation of a working group aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and energy crisis, due to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The United States will strive to supply Europe with an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year, under the initiative unveiled by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to a statement.
The country had already become in 2021 the first supplier of Europe in LNG 22 billion m3 delivered. Growth in deliveries should reach more than 68% with these additional 15 billion m3
The United States represented 28% of European LNG imports in 2021 compared to 22% a year earlier. Between November and January, volumes had already almost doubled to reach 4.4 billion, or 44% of imports.
According to the report by AP, U.S. President Joe Biden asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin uses energy to “coerce and manipulate his neighbors” and uses the profits from its sale to “drive his war machine.”
Biden said the partnership he announced jointly with a top European Union official will turn that dynamic on its head by reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian energy sources, as well reducing the continent’s demand for gas overall.
The president said such a step is not “only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint” but “it’s going to put us on a stronger strategic footing.”
Biden was leaving Brussels after the announcement and heading to Rzeszów in Poland, where U.S. troops are based roughly an hour’s drive from the Ukrainian border.
He will be briefed on the humanitarian response to the refugees streaming out of Ukraine and those still suffering inside the country. He also will meet with U.S. service members from the 82nd Airborne Division, who serve alongside Polish troops.
Biden is then expected to fly to Warsaw for talks Saturday with Polish President Andrzej Duda and an address to the Polish people before he departs for Washington.