Germany urges the Russia to continue gas transit through Ukraine after 2019
Germany stressed how important it is to maintain gas transit through Ukraine after 2019, when the current contract expires, said a representative of the German government Steffen Seibert at a briefing in Berlin, as reported by Ukrinform.
“From our point of view, it is absolutely necessary for Ukraine to remain a transit state. We demand it. It is in our interests and we insist that transit through the country be possible in the future,” Seibert said.
According to him, Berlin is actively supporting the trilateral negotiations between the EU, Ukraine and Russia to continue transit. In Germany, they are not going to consider any “other scenario”.
Seibert admitted that the topic of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which in Germany is considered an economic issue with “political and geopolitical overtones,” will be raised at the meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Vladimir Zelensky in Berlin on Tuesday. This topic was constantly discussed at meetings with his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, he said.
On January 1, 2020, the 10-year transit contract between NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine and Russian Gazprom will end. The latter is currently not actively negotiating the signing of a new contract for transit through Ukraine and is strongly promoting the Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream projects.
Naftogaz believes there is a high chance that Russian Gazprom will stop Russia's natural gas transit through Ukraine in 2020 after completing the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.