(Reuters) – Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyen on Friday pledged to work together to ensure Europe’s and Ukraine’s energy security amid rising tensions over Ukraine.
“The United States and the European Union are working together towards a continuous, sufficient, and timely supply of natural gas to the EU from diverse sources around the world, in order to avoid supply shocks, including those that could result from a new Russian invasion of Ukraine”, underline in a joint declaration the American president and the president of the European Commission.
Russia has deployed some 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, raising concern among Westerners who fear that Russia is preparing a new military offensive after the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
The Russian government denies planning an operation and considers the Western response to be proof that Russia is the target, not the instigator, of the aggression.
The European Union depends on Russia for around a third of its gas needs. Any interruption in supplies from Russia to Europe would exacerbate the current energy crisis.
Reuters previously reported that State Department officials were discussing contingency plans with energy companies to ensure stable supplies from Europe if a possible conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts Russian supplies.
The plan to ensure adequate supply to Europe is complicated by the fact that Liquefied Natural Gas producers around the world are already producing at full capacity.
(Doina Chiacu and Jarrett Renshaw report, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Sophie Louet)
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