The Ukrainian state-owned company that imported the coal told Reuters that the deal made commercial sense. “The meeting with Trump was a key point, a milestone,” a Ukrainian government source told Reuters, requesting anonymity. Trump, who championed US coal producers on the campaign trail, pressed the message after meeting Poroshenko. Along with South Africa, Ukrainian-owned mines in Russia have been the main source of anthracite imports but this is fraught with uncertainty. In July Ukrainian state-owned energy company Centrenergo announced the deal with US company Xcoal for the supply of up to 700,000 tonnes of anthracite.

Source: Egypt Independent February 19, 2018 17:15 UTC