U.S., EU support Ukraine's, Moldova's transition to clean energy

The U.S.-EU Energy Council intends to continue to support Ukraine and Moldova by assisting with their long-term economic and clean energy transition.

The Council said this in a statement following a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, April 4, according to Ukrinform.

"Following the successful synchronization of Ukraine and Moldova with the EU electricity grid, the Council intends to continue to support Ukraine's rapid recovery and reconstruction, and support both Ukraine and Moldova by assisting with their long-term economic and clean energy transition," the document reads.

According to the statement, the United States, the EU and its Member States intend to continue providing emergency energy assistance to Ukraine via the support fora set up in 2022, including the G7+ coordination forum and the International Advisory Energy Council for Ukraine, and to other heavily affected countries in the region such as Moldova.

The Council reaffirmed that the future of Ukraine, Moldova, and their citizens lies within the European Union and would continue to support Ukraine's and Moldova's further integration with the EU.

At the same time, the Council condemned Russia's dangerous actions at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and underlined its full support for the International Atomic Energy Agency's work to apply safeguards to assist Ukraine in its effort to manage nuclear safety and security at its nuclear facilities.

"The United States and the EU strongly call on Russia to withdraw its personnel and military equipment from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and return its full control to its rightful owner, Ukraine," the statement said.

It added that the Council intends to intensify cooperation to reduce dependency on Russia for nuclear materials and fuel cycle services, and supports ongoing efforts by affected EU Member States to diversify nuclear fuel supplies, as appropriate.

The U.S.-EU Energy Council is a high-level body launched in 2009 to coordinate strategic energy issues of mutual interest and R&D cooperation.