Ukrainian, G7 foreign ministers discuss rebuilding of Ukraine's energy infrastructure

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The foreign ministers of Ukraine and G7 countries on Wednesday discussed ways to rebuild Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the NATO foreign ministers summit held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest.

“Addressing a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, other partner countries and the leadership of European financial institutions in Bucharest, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke about possible ways to overcome the electricity shortage in Ukraine,” a statement by Ukraine’s government portal read.

Kuleba suggested the first option is to buy electricity in the EU, although additional financial support will be needed because the prices in the EU market are much higher than domestic prices, the statement read.

The need to provide Ukraine with the necessary energy equipment, transformers and generators in order to compensate for the damaged energy infrastructure was also stressed upon.

“In this regard, Dmytro Kuleba expressed gratitude to the US for providing Ukraine with $53 million for the urgent purchase of energy equipment,” the statement further said.

The statement added that Russia had launched “more than 600 missiles” on Ukrainian territory and attacked critical infrastructure since Oct. 10, adding that these attacks would continue.

"It is critically important to provide Ukraine with the necessary equipment to restore electricity capacities. But it is equally important to continue to provide assistance to protect this equipment from repeated attacks, in particular by supplying Ukraine with missile and air defense systems," Kuleba added.

During the NATO summit, Kuleba held talks with counterparts from Romania, Italy, Poland and Spain. He also met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi.

Kuleba said on Monday that he would travel to the Polish city of Lodz for a meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Dec. 1-2.​​​​​​​