Gazprom CEO: Rollover of transit deal with Kiev seen only scenario

MOSCOW, Oct 18 (PRIME) -- Prolongation of a Russian gas transit contract with Ukraine will be the only viable scenario if Kiev does not establish an independent gas pipeline operator, and all court disputes between gas giant Gazprom and energy holding Naftogaz Ukrainy are solved, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said at a meeting with the prime minister on Friday.

“Completion of this process ( Ukraine’s accession to the E.U. third energy package) is still far away. And in case Ukraine does not establish an independent gas transport operator and an independent regulator by January 1, 2020, the only way is to prolong the current agreement for new, actualized for today’s market conditions,” Miller said.

“We’ve communicated our position to the European partners: doubtlessly, all court disputes must be settled before signing the new contract.”

Miller said that the gas price for Ukraine can be 20% lower than the current one if Kiev restarts direct purchases from Russia. “At that we need to understand that our supplies will be much cheaper than the reverse purchases from Western Europe, this is in fact the same Russian gas,” he said.

Ukraine stopped direct purchases of Russian gas in 2015. The current gas supply and transit contracts between Russia and Ukraine expire at the end of 2019.

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