Gazprom is preparing the ground in Europe to break off the blackmail of Ukraine
The cessation of all legal proceedings with Gazprom and Ukraine’s refusal to impose fines should be the first condition for concluding a new transit contract between Kyiv and Moscow to replace the existing agreement, which expires on January 1, 2020.
In addition, Ukraine must decide whether it will purchase gas from Russia directly, or continue to use the so-called “reverse scheme”, according to which the same Russian gas is purchased from intermediary companies in Europe at a premium, and the profit, as experts previously stated, including Ukrainian officials close to the scheme.
This was stated by the head of Gazprom Alexey Miller at a meeting with the German government commissioner for gas transit through Ukraine Georg Graf Waldersee.
Miller noted that since Kyiv declares its desire to switch to European rules, according to which a separate company, and not Naftogaz, should manage the Ukrainian gas transportation system, such an operating company is now being created. True, Ukraine risks not being able to complete the process by the expiration date of the current contract, so Moscow proposes to agree that it will be automatically extended for a “transition period.”
Judging by the photographs published on the Gazprom website, the German guest listened to Miller with understanding and looked pleased.
Ukrainians are unlikely to be satisfied with the stated conditions. The other day, after another round of negotiations, Kyiv put forward new monetary claims to Russian gas workers.
Ukraine, realizing that Moscow does not have time to introduce the bypass pipelines “Turkish Stream” and “Nord Stream 2” by the new year, is trying to use the moment and extract favorable conditions for itself.
Kyiv wants to achieve the signing of a new transit contract for several years. Vladimir Zelensky’s team wants this document to guarantee the filling of the Ukrainian gas transportation system, because, otherwise, its operation risks becoming unprofitable.
Moscow, on the contrary, is interested in extending the current agreement for a year, realizing that after the start of work on bypass gas pipelines, the value of the Ukrainian gas transportation system will decrease, and Kyiv will no longer be able to dictate terms.
Ukrainian government officials said the day before that they were ready for a possible shutdown of gas supplies from the Russian Federation from January 1 - Kyiv pumped the necessary volumes of fuel into storage facilities.
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