Energy Secretary Rick Perry will meet next week with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in Washington.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the meeting would take place Tuesday on the sidelines of a major international natural gas conference being held in the nation’s capital all week.
White House national security adviser John Bolton is expected to travel to Russia before the end of the month to discuss holding a summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has made improving U.S.-Russia relations a priority, despite an investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller on his campaign’s potential ties to Russia voter meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
The U.S. has been the top global producer of natural gas since 2009, when it surpassed Russia as the top producer, according to the Energy Information Administration. The U.S. surpassed Saudi oil production from the shale energy boom in 2013.
The meeting with Perry follows Friday’s decision by OPEC and non-OPEC countries, principally Russia, to raise production, despite protests by Iran. Trump has been prodding OPEC to increase oil production in order to drive down the price of oil, which heavily influences the price consumers pay at the pump.
So, Russia’s agreement in that decision could be one item up for discussion. But the talks could go far beyond just the price of oil. Russia state media reported Friday the country’s foreign ministry is not ruling out talks with the U.S. on “nuclear strategic stability” this summer.
Russia had postponed strategic stability talks with Washington in March after the U.S. canceled consultations with Russia on cybersecurity, according to Reuters.
Strategic stability talks would include discussions on the country’s nuclear weapons development as well as denuclearization efforts. Perry, as energy chief, is in charge of the nation’s nuclear arsenal, which Trump wants to see optimized with new nuclear weapons development.
Also, on the sidelines of the natural gas conference, Perry will sign an agreement with Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters in Washington, creating the U.S.-Israel Chamber of Excellence in Energy, Engineering and Water Technology.
He will also hold talks with delegates from the European Union at Energy Department headquarters. The meeting will discuss ways businesses “can play a role in these countries and the importance of continued trans-Atlantic cooperation to promote energy security,” according to an agency advisory. There will be opening remarks, but the discussions are closed to the press.
On Tuesday, Perry will open the World Gas Conference by addressing conferees and delegates.
