“Deputy Secretary of State Jeffrey Payette said that the United States hopes that the end of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will be a powerful step towards ending the era of European dependence on Russian energy resources.”, — write: epravda.com.ua
Deputy Secretary of State Jeffrey Payette said that the United States hopes that the end of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will be a powerful step towards ending the era of European dependence on Russian energy resources. He stated this in an interview with the Voice of America, “European Pravda” reports. Payette emphasized that he “really hopes” that the end of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will be a powerful step towards ending the era of Europe’s dependence on Russian energy resources. Commenting on the pressure on Ukraine to extend the contract on the transit of Russian gas, Payette noted that “it is important that the pressure comes from only one or two countries, and the signal from the European Commission is very clear.” Advertisement: The US Deputy Secretary of State welcomed the statement of the European Commissioner with of Energy Affairs Dan Jorgensen on the rejection of Russian gas and the commitment of the newly appointed European Commissioner to phase out dependence in the gas, nuclear spheres, and all forms of dependence on Russian energy resources, in order to reach zero supplies from Russia in 2027. Payette emphasized that he sees no point in continuing the agreement that allowed Russia to exert influence over Ukraine for many years. “Trade in energy resources, especially gas, has been the main vector of Russia’s influence on the Ukrainian economy since independence. So why, for God’s sake, would anyone be interested in continuing these relations?” – he noted. Advertising: He is also convinced that the international community understands the need to abandon Russian energy resources. “Even Japan – and I talked about this with both the energy minister and the Japanese foreign minister on Thursday and Friday – even Japan, which gets about 10% of its gas from Sakhalin, even it is well aware that Russia is an unreliable supplier.” , he said. In order to further limit Russia’s ability to use the proceeds of energy sales for war, the United States and its allies will increase sanctions, Payette added. As you know, the contract between Ukraine and Russia on gas transit expires on January 1, 2025. Europe has already taken steps to prepare for the halt in transit. The most vulnerable are Austria and Slovakia, which bought more than 90% of gas from Russia last year. Due to concerns about Russian gas supplies, Moldova’s parliament voted on Friday, December 13, to introduce a state of emergency in the energy sector. Slovakia and Hungary are making efforts at the state level so that Ukraine continues the transit of Russian gas. In particular, on Monday, December 16, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico talked about it with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Then the head of the Ukrainian government rejected the possibility of extending the agreement with Gazprom. European truth