Russia offers Ukraine to settle trade disputes and resume short-term gas supply
At the trilateral consultations between Ukraine, Russia and the EU, Russia offered to resume the direct supply of Russian gas to Ukraine until Ukraine’s regulatory framework and legislation is ready. According to the TASS news agency, this was announced by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
Novak said that Russia is willing to operate in line with the new European legislation and to reserve capacity for gas transit through Ukraine.
“The discussion was very constructive, we heard that our Ukrainian partners are interested in continuing to work together after January 2020. They presented to us a regulatory framework that will be implemented as of January 1, 2020,” Novak explained.
According to the Russian Energy Minister, Russia offered to settle its current legal disputes with Ukraine peaceably. “It’s very important to guarantee the economically expedient gas supply through Ukraine’s gas transport system,” he added.
The contract between Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz regarding the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine expires on December 31. Early in August, sources told RBC that the European Commission was proposing that Moscow and Kyiv sign a 10 year transit contract.
Mikhail Krutikhin, a partner at the RusEnergy consulting agency recently told The Insider that Gazprom was planning to gradually move its Ukrainian transit quantities to the Turkish Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. “It will probably take five years for all the consumers to completely switch to the new routes. In these five years, Gazprom cannot sign a permanent agreement, because this switchover will be gradual,” said Krutikhin.