Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Friday that the United States continues to have conversations with its European allies about addressing gas supply issues in the winter.
“That’s been an ongoing conversation” Blinken said during a press conference in Berlin when asked if there are any concerns European countries might be hit very hard in winter because of lack of gas supply, Sputnik reported.
The European Union receives about 40% of its gas from Russia, but it’s concerned about potential disruptions amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The United States is doing everything it can to support its European partners’ transition from Russian energy, such as providing liquefied natural gas over the last several months, Blinken added.
Blinken noted that Europe’s transition from reliance on Russian energy will not be easy but that there seems to be a real commitment in Europe to do that.
Energy sanctions, as well as supply chain disruptions due to hostilities, have caused unprecedented inflation and price hikes in many countries in Europe and beyond.
The EU member countries have sanctioned Russia after it launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February.
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The EU has since imposed six packages of sanctions hitting Russia’s banking, finances and media, government officials and lawmakers, as well as oil, though only oil supplied by sea, not pipelines. Several European leaders have called on Brussels to include a ban on Russian gas in the future seventh package.
Russia’s Gazprom has also significantly reduced its Nord Stream 1 gas supplies due to delays in maintenance work on turbines by German and Canadian companies, forcing EU countries to tap into the gas volumes normally reserved for winter with some countries considering returning to coal production.
According to the International Energy Agency, the EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in 2021, which accounts for 45% of the bloc’s imports, and 40% of its total consumption.
