This was stated by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright during a meeting with European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen on September 11. At the same time, the U.S. minister noted that the U.S. is ready for a faster development of events if European countries make such a decision.
As noted by RBC, Brussels intends to completely abandon Russian fuel by January 2028. But it intends to do it in stages. Short-term contracts for the purchase of Russian gas will be prohibited from 2026. Earlier, European Commissioner Jorgensen called the abandonment of gas from Russia by 2028 an “ambitious plan” that would avoid a sharp rise in prices or shortages.
But Brussels is keen to speed up the process, and the US is ready to help with that acceleration. Reuters writes in this regard that the EU will buy about 13% of the gas it needs from Russia this year, up from 45% before the conflict in Ukraine began.
As part of the development of the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, the EU is “considering the possibility of a more rapid divestment from Russian fossil fuels.” This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on September 10.
