US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has urged the EU's remaining buyers of Russian fossil fuels to abandon their campaign against the bloc's efforts to end its dependence on Moscow and buy from America instead, Politico quoted him as saying.
Speaking on Friday at an event in Brussels, where he has been meeting with officials this week on how to increase imports of US liquefied natural gas and cut off the flow of funds for Russia's war in Ukraine, Wright said it would be preferable for Europe to get its supplies from "its friends".
When asked by Asked by Politico whether countries like Hungary and Slovakia, which have resisted the European Commission's efforts to phase out Russian gas, should finally end their ties with the Kremlin, Wright replied, "absolutely."
"We want to displace all Russian gas. President Trump, America and all EU countries, we want to end the Russia-Ukraine war," Wright said. "The more we can stifle Russia's ability to finance this bloody war, the better for all of us." So the answer to your question is yes, absolutely.
At the same time, Wright called on European countries to find alternatives to Russian nuclear power, saying that "we want to see nuclear technology coming from the United States or from the EU itself".
On Thursday, the EU's top court ruled that the Commission had erred in allowing Hungary to grant state aid to finance a major expansion of its nuclear power plants with "Russian support". The EU court said officials should have determined whether the construction of the Paks II plant, in partnership with the Russian state company Rosatom, violated public procurement rules.
Hungarian populist Prime Minister and Trump ally Viktor Orban has long campaigned in support of the Paks II project - and against EU sanctions against Russia, including Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen's plan to gradually halt all gas imports from the country by 2027.