"We're ready to stop it": The Ministry of Energy has made a statement on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine
He stressed that the issues were not resolved, because "there are no possible decisions on the table. " The continuation of transit, in his words, is not critical for energy security. The official excluded any commercial agreements that would allow natural gas from the Russian Federation to continue to arrive across the country at the end of the year after the end of the current transit agreement.
The European Union and Ukraine have previously stated that they would not review the existing treaty, but some market participants are optimistic about the possibility of private agreements on fuel supply to the European Community. "We are ready to stop it," Galushchenko said. The minister said if someone said it was a critical issue to survive in the winter that it was a safety issue of supply, then this is one situation. According to him, he does not see that there is a problem.
After the invasion, Russia has stopped most of its pipeline supply to Europe, but some flows continue through the country with smaller volumes than it is provided by the contract. These supplies cover most demand in countries such as Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Russian gas is still entering the EU through Turkey. It is this country that is the second largest supplier of liquefied gas to Western Europe after the United States.
EU officials have clearly stated that the block should reduce its dependence on the Russian Federation on gas, although they did not impose appropriate sanctions. Austria, one of Gazprom's oldest clients in Western Europe, has been allowed to increase consumption last year. OMV AG, the state energy giant of the country, has a long -term Russian supply contract by 2040, which obliges it to buy gas that reaches Austria. In December, this meant that Gazprom covered 98% of the country's needs.