The United States and the European Union have struck a deal to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, including a commitment for the United States to provide an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to EU markets this year alone. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the new initiative at a joint press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday. “We’re coming together to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy,” said Biden, who accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using his country’s fossil fuel resources to “coerce and manipulate” Russia’s neighbors and of using the profits from their sale to “drive his war machine.” The context for the move is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has sparked an unprecedented series of sanctions against Moscow and is driving the strategic shift away from EU reliance on Russian energy. Russia provides over 40 percent …