Potential shipment volumes could reportedly reach up to 5 billion cubic meters of gas per year

Poland is brokering a deal to route US liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Ukraine and Slovakia, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the talks. The move would further shift Europe away from cheap Russian gas and deepen the EU's reliance on US energy supplies.

The EU agreed to phase out Russian LNG imports under its 19th sanctions package adopted in October. The measures, approved after months of US lobbying, require short-term contracts to end within six months and all remaining Russian gas imports, including LNG, to cease by January 1, 2028. However, several member states, including Hungary and Slovakia, which rely heavily on Russian gas, have criticized the plan, warning it will drive up prices and undermine energy security.

The Polish Energy Ministry told Reuters on Wednesday that it is working with the US, Slovakia, and Ukraine "on the possibilities of importing American gas to boost the energy security of our region."

A joint declaration to boost imports is expected after a transatlantic energy conference in Athens later this week, one source said, adding that talks on supply terms for Slovakia would take place afterward. The volumes, which would be routed south through Poland, could reach 4 to 5 billion cubic meters a year, roughly equal to Slovakia's annual gas consumption, the source added.

"We hadn't fully seized this historic opening that we have to get Europe off Russian energy and onto American, but now this administration is going full throttle and there's a real shift," the outlet cited an anonymous US official as saying.

The US currently accounts for about 55% of LNG supplies to the EU, and complete replacement of all Russian gas imports with US LNG could raise that share to over 80%.

Europe has faced sharp energy price spikes and higher industrial costs since pivoting from Russian fuel imports after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Russia has accused the West of politicizing energy markets and pushing the continent toward costlier, unreliable alternatives.

Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin last month compared overpriced American LNG to a luxury fragrance, saying EU governments are paying "Chanel" prices for energy.

(RT.com)