Ukraine has formally become an association member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) following a signing ceremony in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Speaking during the livestreamed signing ceremony, head of the IEA, Fatih Birol, said the decision to include Ukraine shows the “unanimous support from all governments to have Ukraine as a part of the International Energy Agency family.”
“I think this unanimous support indicates the great respect we have for the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian government,” Birol said.
Describing the Ukraine’s membership as “a big honor” for the IEA, Birol said the population of IEA member countries now totals around 5 billion people.
Referring to the gas shortages ahead of the winter season in Europe, Birol urged unity in the continent’s preparedness for potential gas shortages by sourcing alternative supplies even if Russia does not cut gas off completely.
“It will be difficult and it is the reason we are urging European governments and the colleagues in Brussels, working with them together how we can prepare ourselves for winter,” Birol said, adding that “the longer we wait the more drastic measures are needed.”
“I believe this winter may become a historic test of European solidarity,” he said.
Ukraine's Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, for his part, expressed Ukraine’s happiness in becoming a member of the IEA and said his country would now “become stronger because the Ukrainian energy system was stable even during the war.”
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr