(MENAFN) Poland is mediating an agreement to channel US liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Ukraine and Slovakia, a news agency reported on Thursday, citing sources acquainted with the discussions.

This initiative would further reduce Europe’s dependence on inexpensive Russian gas and increase the EU’s reliance on US energy resources.

Under its 19th sanctions package adopted in October, the EU decided to gradually eliminate Russian LNG imports.

These measures, enacted following extensive US advocacy, mandate that short-term contracts conclude within six months and that all remaining Russian gas imports, including LNG, halt by January 1, 2028.

However, certain member states, notably Hungary and Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on Russian gas, have voiced opposition, arguing that the plan could drive up costs and compromise energy security.

The Polish Energy Ministry informed the news agency on Wednesday that it is collaborating with the US, Slovakia, and Ukraine “on the possibilities of importing American gas to boost the energy security of our region.”

One source indicated that a joint declaration to enhance imports is anticipated after a transatlantic energy conference in Athens later this week.

Discussions regarding supply arrangements for Slovakia are expected to follow.

The volumes, which would be transported south via Poland, could reach 4 to 5 billion cubic meters annually, roughly equivalent to Slovakia’s yearly gas usage, 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,” an anonymous US official told the outlet.

At present, the US supplies about 55% of LNG to the EU, and a complete substitution of all Russian gas imports with US LNG could increase that proportion to over 80%.

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