US Vice President Joe Biden promised in Latvia that the United States is prepared to help ensure Baltic's energy security.
During his meeting with the presidents of the 3 Baltic nations, Biden told that Europe needs diverse sources of gas, not new pipelines that lock in greater reliance on Russia, he said in an apparent reference to Nord Stream 2.
Earlier, on August 23, 2016, Biden said in Sweden, that Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project to pump gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea is a fundamentally bad deal for Europe as it would destabilise Ukraine.
The U.S. is concerned that this pipeline will threaten the energy security of European Union, which «already rely heavily on Russia for natural gas».
In his address to all at the National Library of Latvia, Joe Biden admitted that «you’ve made significant progress in diversifying your energy sector to ensure you are no longer dependent on any one nation for your energy. And with the inauguration of Lithuania’s LNG terminal – appropriately named «Independence» – you took a huge leap forward to end the Baltic region’s energy reliance on Russia».
Latvia´s prime minister Maris Kucinskis enthusiastically stated: «I have to admit that the US has been following events in our region very closely… US is highly interested in ensuring Latvia’s energy security and gas market liberalisation, so that we were not just a consumer country, but could move on, using our own resources».
The topic of gas market liberalisation was raised by the US vice president, he emphasised. «In the worst case scenario Latvia can count on US expertise and support in ensuring energy security. The promise was to help Latvia achieve the situation where we are completely sure of our energy independence», said Kucinskis.
