An agreement to supply Ukraine with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) was signed in Athens on Sunday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s official visit to Greece. Both Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the signing ceremony, which involved Greece’s gas supplier DEPA and Ukraine’s Naftogaz. The US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, was also present.
The gas will be transported through pipelines from the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis to the Ukrainian port of Odesa. Zelenskyy announced that the supply of US LNG is expected to begin in January. Until then, Greece will provide Ukraine with natural gas to meet its winter needs and help compensate for the damage to its energy infrastructure caused by Russian attacks.
Mitsotakis emphasised the significance of an energy meeting held in Athens on November 6-7, which facilitated the LNG deal. At this meeting, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joined over 80 American officials, EU energy ministers, and top LNG executives for discussions hosted by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank. Burgum noted,
“The United States alone could displace all the Russian gas in Europe with what we’re building,” highlighting US intentions to fill the gap left by Russian supply cuts.
This effort coincides with President Donald Trump leveraging the US position as the world’s top LNG exporter, connecting energy supply to trade relations with Europe and efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy and Mitsotakis discussed Greece’s involvement in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, focusing on areas such as construction, healthcare, digitalisation, and monument protection. Zelenskyy also advocated for Greece to acquire Ukrainian weaponry, stating, “I talked about our capabilities in producing defensive weapons,” to reporters following their meeting.
Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Greece for its support of Ukraine’s European Union membership aspirations and its backing of sanctions against Russia. Mitsotakis remarked, “For Greece, border inviolability is non-negotiable. We continue to support, to the best of our ability, the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people,” also condemning the intensification of Russian attacks that target non-military infrastructure and lead to civilian casualties.
Zelenskyy arrived in Athens early Sunday afternoon and is scheduled to visit France on Monday and Spain on Tuesday. This is his second visit to Greece; the first was in August 2023.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
