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

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

US President Joe Biden understands that the European Union will continue to buy natural gas, oil and coal from Russia for the time being, because member states are still very dependent on them for their energy supply. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this after the first day of a two-day EU summit in Brussels where Biden was present, ANP news agency reported. These energy imports continue even during the war with Ukraine.

Washington itself has stopped all oil purchases from Russia. The United States itself has large oil reserves and, unlike the EU, is not particularly dependent on Russian energy supplies. Biden previously made an appeal to refrain from purchasing fossil fuels from Russia as soon as possible, but according to Rutte, he would understand that this takes time. The US will supply Europe with more liquefied gas. “That’s a lot,” said Rutte.

No new sanctions against Russia were agreed on Thursday. “We will talk about sanctions, but I don’t think a decision will be made yet,” the prime minister said, according to the AP news agency. “Remember that the sanctions package now in force is by far the strictest package I have seen in my entire political career.”

At the summit, the European Union accused Russia of that it commits war crimes in Ukraine. For example, Russian troops attack schools, hospitals and air raid shelters and shoot at civilians. Washington has also previously accused Moscow of war crimes.

Overview: Biden visits Poland and IAEA warns of Chernobyl staff working environment

These are the main developments from Thursday evening and the night from Thursday to Friday:

• US President Joe Biden and Polish President Andrzej Duda will visit the city of Rzeszow, 80 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, on Friday. Biden is Europe for a series of meetings with European leaders. The United States has thousands of troops stationed in Poland and Biden will speak with some military personnel during his visit.
• Employees of the former nuclear power plant in Chernobyl are in danger because of continuous shelling around their work area. Which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported Thursday night† A large part of these attacks take place in Slavoetych, where many of these workers come from. Although Chernobyl has been taken over by Russian troops, Ukrainian people continue to work.
• At least 4.3 million children in the Eastern European country have fled the violence since the start of the war in Ukraine, UNICEF reported on Thursday. That means more than half of Ukrainian children were displaced by the war. 1.8 million of these children have fled their salvation abroad.