DiXi Group team discussed energy sanctions against Russia and approaches to Ukraine’s reconstruction during an advocacy visit to the United States

President Olena Pavlenko, Vice President Anton Antonenko, and DiXi Group Research Director Roman Nitsovych met with representatives of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury during their advocacy trip to the United States.

In particular, during the meetings with Congressman Lloyd Doggett and the team of Congressman Michael Quigley, the team focused on the issues of sanctions against Russia in the energy sector, Ukraine’s preparation for the winter period, and debt restructuring under the debt-for-climate/nature swaps model to free up funds for the needs of Ukraine’s “green” reconstruction. Congressman Doggett expressed his support for the initiatives and promised to raise the relevant issues with the U.S. government.

The International Monetary Fund also supported the idea of using so-called “debt swaps” for a “green” post-war recovery. During a conversation with IMF senior economists Heiko Hesse, Armine Khachatryan, and Geoffrey Keim, they also emphasized the importance of a corresponding initiative by the Ukrainian government to assess the impact of such an operation on macrofinancial stability and compliance with the debt policy target by 2030.

The issue of restructuring Ukraine’s debt using the swap model was also discussed during a meeting with representatives of the U.S. Treasury Department. The latter expressed interest and openness to more detailed proposals. Among other things, during the conversation with Grant Murphy, Senior Policy Advisor at U.S. Department of the Treasury, DiXi Group experts paid special attention to the implementation of sanctions against Russia, in particular in the nuclear sector.

Another meeting on sanctions in the nuclear energy sector, as well as on the needs of the Ukrainian energy sector on the eve of the heating season, the issue of transparency in the sector and data disclosure, was held at the US Department of State.

In general, the advocacy visit to Washington helped focus international partners on recovery priorities, keeping the topic of green recovery in focus and promoting a balance between the challenges and needs of today and the principles of green transformation.