The outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden plans in its final weeks to "continue tightening the noose" around Russia's key energy exports with new sanctions to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine, according to Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt.
Pyatt over the past two weeks has traveled in Europe and Asia to discuss energy security with allies and the G7+Ukraine energy resilience group.
In an interview with VOA Ukrainian's Oksana Bedratenko, Pyatt said Europe should use the Dec. 31 expiration of a gas transit contract between Ukraine and Russia to decisively end its dependency on Russian energy.
He said he is encouraged that Europe sees American liquid natural gas (LNG) as part of its energy solution, noting that countries in Europe and even Japan — which imports 10% of its gas from Russia — understand the need to find alternative energy suppliers.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
VOA: Over recent weeks Russia staged several massive attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector. With all of the preparations, with all of the help from Ukraine's allies before winter, what is your assessment of Ukrainian energy sector resilience?
Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt: We knew coming into this winter that this was going to be a very fragile period, but I think the good news is support for Ukraine, support for Ukrainian energy workers, is as strong as it's ever been. We saw another brutal attack on Friday, especially in western Ukraine, in Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk. … And this is the bitterest part of the winter. So we know we need to continue to work together. I've just returned from two weeks of travel. I was in Tokyo and before that I was in Paris and London. The message I heard consistently from all of our G7 partners was a very clear focus on doing everything we can to help ensure that Russia's attempt to weaponize the winter is a failure.
VOA: The gas transit contract between Russia and Ukraine expires at the end of this year. Do you think Europe is ready for it? There has already been some pressure on Ukraine to continue the gas transit. Do you think this will actually be the end of Europe's dependency on Russian gas?
Pyatt: I certainly hope so. And importantly, the pressure that I see is only coming from one or two countries. I was very glad to see the statements over the weekend from the new [EU] Energy Commissioner [Dan] Jorgensen making very clear the need to make progress on gas phaseout, on nuclear, on all forms of dependency on Russian energy, in line with the EU goal of getting to zero by 2027. Obviously, Brussels and Kyiv need to make some decisions in the next couple of weeks. But I think long-term it is very clear that the energy and gas trade in particular has been the principal vector of Russian influence on the Ukrainian economy since independence. So why on earth would anybody be interested in extending that relationship?
VOA: Europe has been buying more LNG from Russia. Are there any plans to have more sanctions on Russian LNG projects?
Pyatt: We welcome Europe's steps. Just today [Dec. 15], the 15th sanctions package, which is quite substantial. I have said publicly on a couple of occasions recently that there will be more coming from the Biden administration. I'm very confident of that. And we're working very hard to maintain alignment between Washington, Brussels, London. That's part of what I was doing in Europe two weeks ago. Everybody's pace of operations is slightly different. ... I was glad to see Commissioner Jorgensen also talk about the important role of American LNG as part of Europe's energy solution. So, I'm very confident that we are going to continue to tighten the noose. We're going to do everything that we can to drive down [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's energy revenues, which go to pay for the North Korean missiles and the Russian drones that are destroying Ukrainian civilian infrastructure every day of the week.
VOA: When we look into the next year, the U.S. support for Ukraine might go down. Do you think that Europe and other allies are ready to step up and continue supporting Ukrainian energy?
Pyatt: Everybody is already stepping up. As I think you saw Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken just signed with [Ukrainian] Foreign Minister [Andrii] Sybiha a second energy [Memorandum of Understanding]. This is for the implementation of $825 million in additional energy sector assistance just from the United States. … That very high level of U.S. assistance is exceeded by the assistance that has come from the other G7-plus partners. This is a really important point that it's not just the United States that's providing this assistance, and in fact, the majority of assistance in the energy sector has come from the other G7-plus countries.
VOA: In the MOU there's a lot of attention going to the protection of Ukrainian companies from political influence. How important are reforms in Ukraine even during the war?
Pyatt: Well, as you know, I've been working on these reform issues for 10 years now. So I can appreciate the progress that has been achieved, and that progress is real. Look for instance at the improved production numbers at Naftogaz. Maybe that improved production is because of better management; maybe it's because production that was previously skimmed off is now being declared transparently. But either way, it's a positive outcome. There's more that needs to be done. … Ukraine will not become a member of the European Union in one day, but I think fulfilling the aspirations that the Ukrainian people expressed during the revolution of dignity, when I was ambassador in Kyiv, is as important today as it's ever been, and aligning Ukraine's energy sector with the highest European and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) standards is very much part and parcel of that larger process of becoming a member of the EU.
