US' Blinken and EU's Borrell to Discuss Energy Supply Issues Amid Ukraine Crisis
06:25 GMT 07.02.2022 (Updated: 17:14 GMT 12.04.2023)
© REUTERS / LEE SMITH / FILE PHOTO: Flames come out of a domestic gas ring of an oven in Durham, Britain, September 23, 2021.
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Union High Representative Josep Borrell will meet in Washington this week to discuss energy supply issues as tensions boil over the Ukraine crisis while kicking off a new energy council.
"The EU-US Energy Council will be crucial to take forward cooperation on energy security and on the joint commitment to accelerate a just and clean energy transition to climate neutrality for citizens of the EU, the United States, and around the globe," the EU said in a press release last week. "The event comes at a pivotal moment for addressing energy supply to address the availability of natural gas and volatile prices."
Blinken and Borrell will hold a bilateral meeting on Monday followed by an expanded meet including EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Borrell's office said in a release last week.
US President Joe Biden and EU President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement in late January that the EU-US Energy Council meeting on Monday will be a chance to move forward to work to encourage major energy producers to surge supplies.
On Tuesday, Borrell is also scheduled to meet with members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which is currently putting together an anti-Russia sanctions bill should there be military escalation with Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken speaks about Russia and Ukraine in Washington
© REUTERS / POOL / U.S. Secretary of State Blinken speaks about Russia and Ukraine in Washington
The precarious situation around Ukraine has worsened over the past several months after Russia was accused of building up troops near the Ukrainian border and allegedly preparing for an invasion. Moscow has denied the accusations, pointing to NATO's military activity near Russian borders, which it deems a threat to its national security.
The United States and its European partners have mulled sanctions targeting Russia's energy supplies over the situation in Ukraine. The Biden administration has recently been encouraging major energy producers to increase production. However, US media reported that sanctions on Russian energy are off the table for now.
