US to sign deal with EU, aiding to replace Russian gas imports

• European Commission aims to replace Russian gas by 2022

• Biden and von der Leyen to announce deal Friday morning

President Biden and the European Union to announce a deal on Friday morning for greater liquefied natural gas imports from the United States to help reduce EU’s dependence on Russian fuels. 

“We are taking further, concrete steps in our energy cooperation to ensure the security of supply and to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” US President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement on Thursday in Brussels.

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The European Commission's new energy strategy, unveiled earlier this month, aims to replace 101.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas by 2022.

 However, Russia is the EU's largest natural gas supplier, accounting for more than 40% of imports, and imports from the United States will take time to ramp up.

Biden and von der Leyen had previously said that they will tighten sanctions on Russia and increase humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

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“We continue to mobilize and coordinate significant humanitarian relief to support people within Ukraine,” Biden and von der Leyen said.  

Ukraine to get more than $1 billion in new humanitarian assistance. The US is prepared to provide on top of the nearly “$300 million already contributed and €550 million from the EU.”

Picture Credits: Agencia EFE