Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today called on Norway, Europe’s second-largest gas supplier after Russia, to provide more energy to his country and the European Union.
During a video address to Stuttinge, the Norwegian parliament, Zelensky also said that Russian ships “should not have the right to use the ports of the free world”.
“You can make a decisive contribution to Europe’s energy security by providing the necessary resources to the countries of the European Union and Ukraine,” he told lawmakers and members of the Norwegian government, who then applauded him.
“We have already talked about the supply of about 5 billion cubic meters of gas for the next cold season,” he added.
Prior to the conflict in Ukraine, Norway met between 20 and 25% of the EU and UK gas needs compared to 45% to 50% for gas from Russia, a supplier the EU is now seeking to reduce. its dependence.
Oslo, for its part, has taken steps to keep gas production at a maximum during the summer, generally a low period used in part to maintain offshore platforms.
“We offer as much as possible,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Stere reiterated today on NRK radio.
The Ukrainian president also demanded that Russian ships be banned from making intermediate stops in European ports.
“The European Union and, hopefully, Norway should also ban Russian ships from using European ports,” Zelensky said in a khaki shirt.
“Right now, when (the Russians) block our ports, they should not have the right to use ports in the free world,” he said.
As with each of his speeches to a Western parliament, the Ukrainian leaders also called for more weapons, such as anti-ship missiles as well as anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems.
The same day, Norway announced that it had given Ukraine an additional 2,000 M72 anti-tank weapons, in addition to the same number that had already been given shortly after the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February.
The Norwegian government also announced the allocation, through the World Bank, of EUR 20 million to finance Ukrainian government services, in particular for the payment of salaries of healthcare staff, teachers and civil servants, as well as for pensions and social assistance. .
Source: Capital
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