Bolton urges energy independence during Kyiv visit

Ukrainians
commemorated their 27th Independence Day holiday on Aug. 24 with U.S. National
Security Advisor John Bolton participating in the military parade along the
main boulevard. In his meetings with Ukrainian leaders, Bolton discussed
Western involvement in extracting Ukraine’s natural gas supplies to make the
country more energy independent from Russia. He also stressed the Trump
administration’s goal of making Europe more independent from Russian gas,
particularly with the construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

President Trump is
concerned that European states like Ukraine are willingly becoming dependent on
Russian gas rather than searching for alternative sources, Bolton told
reporters at an Aug. 24 press conference. With the completion of Nord Stream 2,
Ukraine is threatened with the possibility that it won’t receive enough gas
supplies from Russia, he said. As for the possibility of UN peacekeeping
mission in Donbas, Bolton said the very fact that Russia is participating in
negotiations is possibly an indirect admission “that there are problems, and it
is a part of those problems,” he told reporters.

Zenon Zawada: The
Trump administration has openly declared its goal of boosting U.S. energy
exports, particularly coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to European
countries. Officials have been actively seeking new clients for U.S. energy
producers, having secured contracts for LNG with Poland and desperately needed
anthracite coal with Ukraine. In his meetings, we believe Bolton was arranging
for U.S. companies to not only help Ukrainians extract their own natural gas,
but also supply LNG to Ukraine. These are pragmatic solutions that will help
both Ukraine and the U.S. challenge the Russians in establishing their
dominance over the European energy market, and subsequently reduce Russian
geopolitical influence.