U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is coming to Kyiv at the end of August — and the world found out about it in a most unconventional way.
He was scammed.
Two Russian pranksters, Alexey Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as “Lexus” and “Vovan,” convinced Perry that he was speaking with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman in the 22-minute phone call on July 19.
The audio of the conversation was posted on YouTube on July 25.
Perry talked in detail, revealing his plans for his upcoming trip to Ukraine at the end of August.
If it’s any consolation, Perry wasn’t the first victim of the duo.
The two have gained fame for making fake calls to unsuspecting politicians, including U.S. Sen. John McCain, and celebrities such as singer Elton John, and others whose aides obviously did not properly screen their bosses calls.
Last November, the Russian prank duo duped Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, posing as Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev.
Last year, they also claimed to be Poroshenko when they contacted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and journalists of the New York Times.
Other Ukrainian officials who have fallen victim to the Russian pranksters were Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and former Odesa Oblast Governor Mikheil Saakashvili.
Perry quickly owned up to the mistake.
“Secretary Perry is the latest target of two Russian pranksters,” Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes confirmed in an email, Bloomberg reported.
“These individuals are known for pranking high-level officials and celebrities, particularly those who are supportive of an agenda that is not in line with their governments. In this case, the energy security of Ukraine.”
Conversation details
The recording of the phone conversation was posted on YouTube on July 25, hours before the U.S. Congress voted to advance sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its alleged interference in 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Perry met with Poroshenko in the end of June in Washington, D.C., at which time the end-of-August visit was set in place. He also met with Groysman recently in the American capital as well.
What did the world learn about Perry’s plans for Ukraine from the phone call?
Quite a lot, actually.
“We look forward to bringing some oil and gas interests to Ukraine,” he said.
He urged continuing transformations to make Ukraine’s energy sector more transparent and competitive in order to attract investment from American oil and gas companies.
Perry also restated U.S. opposition to Russia’s proposed Nord Stream II pipeline across the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing Ukraine’s pipelines and depriving the nation of up to $2 billion yearly in transit fees from the gas.
“We are not in favor of it being built,” he said, touting efforts by American companies to supply Europe with liquefied natural gas, or LNG.
“If the Nord Stream is built, the U.S. will continue to have substantial shipments of LNG to Europe, and hopefully Qatar and Australia will as well,” the energy secretary said.
He said he understood the challenges American energy companies might face with Ukraine’s billionaire oligarchs, Rinat Akhmetov and Ihor Kolomoisky, who control some of the largest energy companies in the country and who stifle competition in the sector.
“Hopefully, we can make an argument to the people of Ukraine that competition is a good thing and that U.S. companies can bring development to the country’s oil and gas sector and put Ukrainians to work,” he said.
The pranksters mentioned that Hunter Biden, son of ex-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is on the board of directors of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, might also be unhappy with the competition. Perry said he needed more information but promised to have a conversation with Biden Jr. if the opportunity arises.
Commenting on the reports of Russian media that the price of American coal for Ukraine has tripled this year, Perry said he wasn’t informed about it but it sounded unreasonable to him.
When the pranksters asked whether Ukraine could increase American coal exports for lower rates, Perry answered that “negotiation is always possible” and said that the question is within the purview of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
“XCoal is the private company that has been designated. My recommendation is to send your best negotiator to them,” Perry said.
XCoal Energy and Resources is a Pennsylvania-based privately held coal company.
In Perry’s words, Ukraine needs to make geological data accessible online in order to increase transparency and attract American companies. He offered to put Groysman in touch with one of the Texas oil and gas companies that would help the Ukrainian government to develop and modernize such an open system of geological data.
The U.S. can also share its technology and experience in cyber-security, he said. Over the last two years, Ukraine’s power grid suffered from several attacks allegedly carried out by Russian hackers.
“I would not be surprised that individuals from Russia would be involved in those types of activities,” Perry said. “The U.S. can share its technologies to defend against the type of attacks that Ukrainian electric system faced.”
Finally, the pranksters discussed a “new biofuel” invented by Poroshenko that is made from home-brewed alcohol and pig manure. Perry told them he would like more information about this “scientific development.”
Correction: The initial version of this article mistakenly mentioned EXCO Resources Inc., a Texas-based gas and oil company, instead of XCoal Energy & Resources from Pennsylvania.
