By KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The U.S. State Department has appointed former U.S. Ambassador to the country Geoffrey Pyatte as the coordinator of assistance to Ukraine in repairing, maintaining and strengthening its energy sector after massive Russian airstrikes.
"Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Geoffrey Payette has been tasked with coordinating the U.S. government’s energy support to Ukraine with international partners," The Voice of America quoted State Department spokesman Ned Price as saying.
According to him, Payette has a unique qualification to coordinate this work, since he worked as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2013 to 2016.
"Within the U.S. government, the State Department will work with the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the United States Agency for International Development, and the National Security Council to evaluate requests from the government of Ukraine and identify resources or equipment that may be suitable for the task," Price said.
"The government of Ukraine will need help to keep Ukraine resilient and strong despite Russia’s efforts to shut off heat and electricity this winter. President Putin has failed on the battlefield, so now he’s waging war against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. We must do everything so that he is defeated here as well," he added.
As reported, Payette headed the American diplomatic mission in Ukraine from November 2013 to August 2016.
