Ukraine Should Create Gas Consortium With Russia, EU to Preserve Transit - Medvedchuk

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2019) Ukraine needs to create a trilateral gas transportation consortium, which will include Russia and the European Union, to retain its role as a transit country, the chairman of the political council of Ukraine's Opposition Platform For Life party, Viktor Medvedchuk, said on Saturday.

In January, Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission held another round of negotiations on the future of gas transit via Ukraine in light of the expiry of the relevant contract between Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukraine's national gas company Naftogaz at the end of the year. The talks, however, concluded without an agreement.

"To preserve Ukraine's status as a transit country and fully load our gas transmission system, a trilateral gas transportation consortium should be created with the participation of Russia as the only supplier and the European Union as the end consumer," Medvedchuk said, as quoted by his party's press service.

The politician also noted that it was the unprofessional actions of the Naftogaz leadership that had led to a record increase in gas prices and utility bill debts in the country.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine was paying for gas twice as much as it could have paid due to Kiev's "political tricks." He expressed concern that that the country would be left without gas at all if no deal on Russian gas transit was in place in due course.