US rejects France's accusations of selling LNG at inflated prices

A senior White House official has denied reports accusing the United States of profiting from liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to Europe, calling them false.

The official made the statement responding to the relevant question from journalists ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the US, Kommersant reports.

Paris had repeatedly accused Washington of selling LNG at inflated prices.

"We have seen articles claiming that the US is profiting from the sale of its LNG to Europe. This allegation is not true. In fact, the US mobilised LNG to help Europe prepare for winter," the official said in a telephone briefing.

He remarked that most LNG is exported under "transparent long-term contracts with foreign energy trading firms, including several European companies".

“The US and French presidents are planning to discuss Ukraine, China, Iran and the Sahel at a meeting in Washington on December 1, the White House official said.

He said that this visit of the French leader will be "an opportunity to coordinate their actions on the most pressing global issues", adding that China "will be at the top of the agenda" as Europe has "its own interests" and the US views on China "are not identical".

In October, President Macron criticised the US for its double-standard approach to gas pricing, claiming that gas is three to four times cheaper on the US domestic market than when it is sold to Europeans. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called it unacceptable that Washington sells LNG to the EU at four times the price of its industrialists.