MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2021) The fate of transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine after the current agreement expires in 2024 will depend on talks between the sides concerned, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Moscow was not planning to abandon the Ukrainian transit route even after the expiration of the treaty. According to the official, President Vladimir Putin believes that the volumes of gas exports to Europe will increase in the future and Ukrainian transit may be in demand.
"We have a transit agreement with Ukraine until 2024, what will happen next must be discussed. But the US administration is already thinking about Ukraine not being affected," Lavrov said at the Primakov Readings forum.
Though Moscow has repeatedly said that it would continue relying on the neighbor's transport capacities to pump gas to Europe in the coming years despite building additional pipelines, Kiev supports efforts to hinder the Nord Stream 2 project, expected to transport gas from Russia directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was using the Nord Stream 2 as a "trump card" in international relations, claiming that the pipeline threatens the energy security of Ukraine and Europe.
