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The US and European Union on Friday introduced a brand new partnership to cut back the continent’s reliance on Russian vitality, a step high officers characterised as the beginning of a years-long initiative to additional isolate Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin makes use of vitality to “coerce and manipulate his neighbors” and makes use of the earnings from its sale to “drive his battle machine.”
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Biden stated the partnership he introduced collectively with a high European Union official will flip that dynamic on its head by decreasing Europe’s dependence on Russian vitality sources, as effectively decreasing the continent’s demand for gasoline general.
The president stated such a step just isn’t “solely the best factor to do from an ethical standpoint” however “it’s going to place us on a stronger strategic footing.”
Beneath the plan, the U.S. and different nations will improve liquified pure gasoline exports to Europe by 15 billion cubic meters this yr, although U.S. officers had been unable to say precisely which international locations will present the additional vitality this yr. Even bigger shipments can be delivered sooner or later. .
On the similar time, they may attempt to hold their local weather objectives on monitor by powering gasoline infrastructure with clear vitality and decreasing methane leaks that may worsen world warming.
Though the initiative will probably require new amenities for importing liquified pure gasoline, the partnership can be geared towards decreasing reliance on fossil fuels in the long term by means of vitality effectivity and different sources of vitality, in response to the White Home.
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU’s govt arm, stated it is vital for Europe to shift away from Russia and towards vitality suppliers which can be reliable, pleasant and dependable.
“We purpose to cut back this dependence on Russian fossil fuels and do away with it,” she stated.
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Russian vitality is a key supply of revenue and political leverage for Moscow. Virtually 40% of the European Union’s pure gasoline comes from Russia to warmth houses, generate electrical energy and energy trade.
Biden was leaving Brussels after the announcement and heading to Rzeszów in Poland, the place U.S. troops are based mostly roughly an hour’s drive from the Ukrainian border.
He will probably be briefed on the humanitarian response to the refugees streaming out of Ukraine and people nonetheless struggling contained in the nation. He additionally will meet with U.S. service members from the 82nd Airborne Division, who serve alongside Polish troops.
Biden is then anticipated to fly to Warsaw for talks Saturday with Polish President Andrzej Duda and an deal with to the Polish individuals earlier than he departs for Washington.
Whereas in Brussels, Biden participated in a trio of summits hosted by NATO, the Group of Seven industrialized nations and the European Union, all on Thursday. The extraordinary collection of conferences displays heightened issues concerning the battle in Ukraine, which has entered its second month.
Though Ukraine has resisted the Russian invasion far more efficiently than initially anticipated, the battle has grow to be a grueling and bloody affair, with 1000’s of casualties on all sides and hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the nation.
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