Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and USA strengthen cooperation to diversify gas supplies to Europe
Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and the USA have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector and confirmed their commitment to diversifying gas supplies to Europe in order to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources, the press service of the Ministry of Energy reported.
"High-ranking representatives of the governments of Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and the United States met on the sidelines of the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) in Athens (Greece)," the report said.
Ukraine was represented at the meeting by Deputy Minister of Energy Mykola Kolisnyk.
Reportedly, the meeting participants discussed the possibilities of increasing supplies of American LNG to Europe through LNG import terminals and FSRUs in the Baltic Sea.
Kolisnyk emphasized that P-TEC is a vital platform for fortifying the energy connection between Europe and North America. As part of the European Energy Community, Ukraine is actively integrating into transatlantic initiatives aimed at enhancing security, promoting sustainable development, and achieving decarbonization.
"Developing infrastructure for receiving and transporting liquefied natural gas is critical to the stability of the European energy system amid political turbulence. Cooperation with EU countries such as Poland, Slovakia, and Lithuania in the field of gas production and storage is strategically important for Ukraine in developing its energy system and increasing its resilience," he noted.
It is noted that as a result of the meeting, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United States confirmed their commitment to diversifying gas supplies to Europe, reducing dependence on Russian energy resources and strengthening regional energy stability. The United States confirmed its readiness to facilitate the supply of American LNG to achieve these strategic goals.
The Deputy Minister of Energy, together with Chairman of Naftogaz Serhiy Koretsky, also held negotiations with representatives of the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank).
"We discussed possible financial instruments to attract additional volumes of American gas to meet both current and long-term needs of Ukraine. We had a productive conversation with Joshua Volz, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy, regarding support for Ukraine, substitution of Russian energy resources from Europe, and joint investment projects within the framework of bilateral partnership. We coordinated positions and further joint actions to strengthen the energy security of Ukraine and the entire region with the Director General for Energy of the European Commission, Ditte Juul Jørgensen," the report says.
Also, a number of working meetings were held on the P-TEC fields with producers, traders, and exporters of American LNG, as well as representatives of European governments. They discussed a long-term strategic partnership within the framework of diversification of energy supplies.
