BRUSSELS (Reuters), – Friday’s announcement by Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU Commission, that the United States had committed to supplying additional liquefied LNG to Europe was a major step toward reducing Europe’s dependency on Russian gas.

We aim to decrease our dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and eliminate it. “This can only be accomplished through… additional gas supplies and LNG delivery,” von der Leyen stated at a joint press conference with U.S. President Joe Biden.

She said, “We, the Europeans, want to diversify from Russia towards suppliers we trust and are friends with that are reliable.”

“The U.S. pledge to supply at least 15 Billion cubic metres more LNG to the European Union this year is an important step in that direction, since this will replace our current Russian LNG supply.”

The United States committed to providing additional 15 billion cubic meters (bcm), of LNG to the European Union this year. Both sides aim to increase deliveries to 50 Bcm annually.

“Looking to the future, the United States of America and Europe will provide stable demand and supplies for an additional 50 billion cubic metres U.S. LNG until 2030,” von der Leyen added, noting that this would replace one-third of Russian gas supply to the EU at present.

She said, “We have to ensure our supplies are not only for next winter, but for all future years.” “Our alliance aims to sustain and support us during this war,”