“We feel betrayed” - General Director of the Ukrainian GTS
Europe no longer needs a “gas shield”; it will not help Ukraine either, because Gazprom has begun to dismantle the pipe on its territory in order to even theoretically exclude gas transit through the Ukrainian gas transportation system in the future.
Sergei Makogon, General Director of GTS Operator of Ukraine LLC, stated this on Radio NV, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We want all new gas pipelines that the Russian Federation is developing and existing ones to comply with European legislation. We as a country have done everything that the EU required of us. ...We did all this, it was a very difficult job, we actually completely rebuilt our gas market,” Makogon said.
“And in the end they didn’t really appreciate it, if we look at the current situation,” the radio presenter noted.
“Yes, yes, we feel betrayed because we did it all. What else is required from Ukraine now? “We did everything that our European partners demanded of us,” the energy engineer complained. – We cannot go to Gazprom and demand some kind of contract. We can offer our capacities, and in fact this is Gazprom’s decision. But if there is such a situation that Gazprom will continue to impose its rules of the game on Europeans, firstly, not on Ukrainians, then I do not see the point in these reforms. Why did we do all this?”
“Is it true that Russia has begun partial dismantling of pipes at the border and is preparing to reduce or completely stop transit through the territory of Ukraine?” – asked the journalist.
“Yes, optimization is underway, because they no longer need such capacity; several compressor stations along this route have already been closed. Yes, we are considering the scenario that even if our system works, we leave some transit capacities, then Gazprom itself can dismantle the pipes on its territory in order to even theoretically prevent the possibility of gas transit through Ukraine in the future,” answered Makogon.
“...And then they will simply say - but we can’t, we don’t have such technical capabilities,” the radio presenter finished for the studio guest. “When we lose transit, should we prepare for war?”
“I agree, as long as we have transit, we have a “gas shield.” European partners are interested in us, because another 25-30% of gas goes through Ukraine. And if something happens, there will be no gas in Europe, European consumers may be left without gas. And this will put a lot of pressure on European politicians, and they will have to react somehow. ...And if the transit is not through Ukraine, but through Nord Stream 2, the situation in Ukraine will not be of interest to European politicians,” concluded Makogon.
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