McCain: US will supply gas to Ukraine, Europe in 2 yrs

U.S. Senator John McCain (Reuters / Mike Segar)

U.S. Senator John McCain (Reuters / Mike Segar)

The US will be able to supply natural gas to Ukraine and Europe within two years, Senator John McCain pledged in Kiev. The American politician believes that only gas reliance prevents European countries from hardening sanctions against Russia.

“The United States will supply natural gas to Ukraine and
other parts of Europe in two years,”
McCain said on
Saturday, RIA Novosti reported.

McCain headed the Senate’s delegation to Ukraine, which he
visited together with Senator Tom Cotton and Senator John Barras.
The delegation met with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and
visited headquarters of Dnipro-1 territorial defense battalion in
Dnepropetrovsk.

On Friday, McCain sent a message of encouragement to Kiev and
sought to shame Washington’s European allies for not providing
the Ukrainian forces with sufficient help to defeat the rebels in
the east of the country, AP reports.

McCain believes that only dependence of Europe on gas supply from
Russia prevents European capitals from introducing tougher
economic sanctions against Moscow.

READ
MORE: Anti-Russian sanctions hurt Europe harder than expected,
threaten 2.5mn jobs – study

In early June, McCain criticized the Obama administration for not
sending lethal arms to Kiev, describing this kind of situation as
“shameful.”

On Thursday, the US Senate passed, by 71 votes to 25, the $612
billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to fund the US
armed forces through 2016.

The bill includes $300 million worth supply of military equipment
to Ukraine, with approval from Congress and the White House still
pending.

Russia has been consistently speaking against providing military
support to the Kiev authorities, which has proved to lead to
escalation of the conflict and increased instability in the
region.

A month ago, McCain, a supporter of the 2014 Maidan coup that
deposed former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, had to
decline a seat on the Ukraine’s International Advisory Council
due to US Congress regulations.

READ MORE: No Ukraine for McCain: US constitution
precludes senator from joining reform council

In the meantime, the number of oil and gas drilling rigs in the
US and Canada has been decreasing with an unprecedented speed
which exceeds the rates of the previous fall caused by the 208
financial crisis. The fall continues for nearly six month now,

reports
Baker Hughes.

As of mid-June, the number of gas rigs has fallen to 859, which
is a 44.48 percent to the maximum registered in September last
year (1,931 rigs). The number of oil rigs in the US has decreased
to 635 units, a mere 39.47 percent of the maximum 1,609 rigs
registered last year.

As of now, Ukraine is buying gas from Russia with a $US 100
discount (per 1,000 cubic meters) which was introduced last
October as part of the so-called “winter package,” heavily
negotiated by the European Commission.

Although the winter package expired March 31, Russia has been
keeping the discount in place.

The ongoing negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the European
Commission are expected to result in a draft protocol on Russian
gas supplies to Ukraine covering the entire autumn-winter seasons
of 2015-2016, RIA reports.

The trilateral ministerial meeting on gas is likely to be held
this week.

Source Article from http://rt.com/usa/268654-us-gas-ukraine-mccain/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

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