U.S. energy secretary denies pressing Ukraine

Perry made the statement at a press conference in Vilnius on October 7 as part of his visit to Lithuania.

"Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Monday denied that he pressed the Ukrainian government to put two U.S. businessmen on the board of the state energy company or that he was planning to leave the Trump administration," the report reads.

Perry acknowledged making the recommendations to Ukraine's state-owned natural gas company Naftogaz, but said he did so only at the request of that Ukrainian side. He also said it was "true" that he had pressed President Donald Trump to make the July call to Zelensky that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

"Absolutely, I asked the president multiple times, 'Mr. President, we think it is in the United States' and in Ukraine's best interest that you and the president of Ukraine have conversations, that you discuss the options that are there," he said.

In late September, Democrats in the House of Representatives launch a formal impeachment inquiry against the U.S. president. They insist he could have pressured the Ukrainian leadership to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, Trump's main political opponent in the U.S. presidential election.

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