Rutte: Biden understands that the EU cannot do without Russian energy yet | Abroad

The United States itself has launched an oil boycott against Russia. Before his visit to Brussels, with three summits where he met every notable Western leader, Biden urged that the EU also needs to get rid of Russian fossil fuels. But Biden “understands very well” that that still takes a lot of time, Rutte said afterwards.

Other possible additional sanctions, such as closing European ports to Russian ships, were also not forthcoming on Thursday. The EU will focus on making the sanctions already taken work better, the leaders agreed. Europe and the US will work together to cut shortcuts and close loopholes.

Meanwhile, the EU can count on more liquefied gas (LNG) from the US, Biden promised. And “that’s a lot,” says Rutte. Canada also promised to supply Europe with more LNG, but that will take a little longer.

Unity was the keyword of the summit marathon, according to Rutte. Some EU countries are so dependent on Russian energy that “national security is at stake” without it. Countries such as Germany, Italy and Hungary cannot get rid of it yet, according to the prime minister.

Hungary, with a prime minister who still tries to remain friends with the Kremlin, was addressed insistently by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky during the EU summit. He called again and asked Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to consider what he actually stands for. And, now that Ukraine’s Mariupol is being razed to the ground, to think back to times when that also happened to Hungary.

Zelensky also addressed the Netherlands, an outspoken opponent of an accelerated admission of Ukraine as an EU member, directly. “The Netherlands is rational,” said Zelenski. “So let’s find words for it that we both stand behind.”