USA calls on EU to stop buying Russian gas to tighten sanctions against Russia – media

European countries must stop buying Russian oil and gas if they want the United States to tighten sanctions against Moscow, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, The Financial Times reports.

According to him, the trade in Russian energy resources finances President Vladimir Putin's "war machine." "If the Europeans drew a line and said: ‘We’re not going to buy more Russian gas, we’re not going to buy Russian oil’. Would that have a positive influence on the US leaning in more aggressively [on sanctions] as well? Absolutely," he said in an interview ahead of talks with his EU counterpart in Brussels this week.

He added that EU countries should instead buy American liquefied natural gas (LNG), gasoline and other energy resources as part of the US-EU trade agreement, which provides for the purchase of energy resources worth $750 billion by the end of 2028.

According to the publication, Wright will meet with European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen to discuss the EU's plans to abandon Russian energy and purchase American resources worth $250 billion a year.