Baku – APA. Republican lawmakers, while stopping short of calling for U.S. military action against Russia, say the Obama administration has another weapon at its disposal that could help Ukraine - natural gas, APA reports quoting Fox News.
Top-ranking Republicans on Tuesday urged the administration to cut the red tape that has held up the approval process for natural gas exports to key U.S. allies. They argue that by helping Ukraine and European allies end their dependence on Russian energy, the U.S. could ultimately loosen Vladimir Putin's grip on the region.
"We need this action now more than ever before," Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., in warning that this could be used to manipulate the region, noted that a Russian energy firm just threatened to raise gas prices on Ukraine. "If President Obama is serious about helping the people of Ukraine, he will immediately expedite the approval process for liquefied natural gas exports," he said. "American natural gas exports would help Ukraine free itself from Russian energy and Putin's political manipulation."
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, said that that expanded natural gas exports would weaken Russia's political influence.
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