Energy a key discussion point in Clinton trip to Ukraine, Poland

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said U.S. energy companies can help Ukraine reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas.

Commenting after her meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Clinton said that the United States would be interested in investing in Ukraine's energy sector,  including shale gas production.

"Investing in the energy sector is one of the best ways the U.S. and other countries can help Ukraine,” she said.

“An energy sector built on transparency, market pricing and efficiency can put a permanent end to the crises that have beset the Ukrainian energy market.”

Later in Warsaw, Mrs Clinton also discussed Poland's shale gas deposits.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Clinton, Polish Secretary of State, Radek Sikorski said that he saw a convergence of views on energy security issues and is happy that Poland and the US will cooperate on the extraction of recently discovered shale gas deposits in Poland.

"I am pleased with our talks, which were devoted to a large degree on energy cooperation and energy security,” Sikorski said. "I see a tremendous convergence of views on these issues.”

Source: thenews.pl, Businessweek