U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha at the signing of a memorandum of understanding to promote Ukraine's energy resilience and prior to their meeting:
"Perhaps I could start by saying that today we are signing - we are signing a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Ukraine in the energy sector. We and many other countries are committed to doing everything we can to continue to help Ukraine build energy resilience, and that has never been more important or more urgent as Putin continues to weaponize the winter with horrific strikes on the entire energy grid, trying to keep people from freezing to death, trying to keep people without light, trying to destroy industry.
The United States and many other countries have been working very hard to support Ukraine to ensure that the energy grid is repaired, replaced and protected, and this memorandum of understanding continues that work - again, ensuring that things that are destroyed are replaced; that Ukraine has more generating capacity, both on a small and large scale; that more protection measures are put in place; and also that it is further integrated with the European energy grid. We have made great progress on all of these fronts, and there is a tremendous commitment not only by the United States but by many other countries to ensure that Ukraine's energy resilience remains strong.
On a more general level, I look forward to talking to my friend the Foreign Secretary about the efforts we are all making to strengthen Ukraine and deal with the ongoing Russian aggression. Here at NATO, I hear a shared determination across the Alliance to ensure that we continue to do whatever is necessary to enable Ukraine to defend itself, protect its people and ultimately find a just and lasting solution to Russian aggression," Blinken said.
https://twitter.com/andrii_sybiha/status/1864052291667374518
"Dear Tony, dear Minister, thank you very much for your strong words. I really appreciate this opportunity to meet you and exchange views at such a challenging time. It is true that this document is really very important for us, especially now when - when our people, our civilians, are suffering from the daily Russian missile terror. And it's a real contribution to our energy resilience - we're talking about more than $800 million. So, again, thank you very much, and it's a vital support and assistance in such a challenging time.
It is true that the Russians have increased missile attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities. And what is new: they have started attacking nuclear energy facilities. So this is a real risk of a nuclear incident, and we must all join our efforts to respond adequately. Now is not the time to discuss what ifs; it is the time to respond properly to the challenges we now face.
We meet and negotiate with you regularly, Minister, and each meeting results in a shorter and shorter to-do list. And I truly appreciate your personal unwavering support for our territorial integrity and sovereignty. The recent strong decisions with regard to strengthening the sanctions policy and sanctions against the banking sector - these are really powerful tools to force Russia to a just, comprehensive, long-term peace," Sybiha said.
state.gov/ gnews - RoZ_07
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