German Lawmaker Believes EU To Secure Gas Supply Without Kiev If Talks With Moscow Fail

German Lawmaker Believes EU to Secure Gas Supply Without Kiev If Talks With Moscow Fail

Europe will still have a guaranteed gas supply through the Nord Stream 2 and other pipeline projects that bypass Ukraine, Steffen Kotre, a member of the German Bundestag, told Sputnik on Friday, reacting to the outcome of this week's EU-mediated Russia-Ukraine talks on gas transit that are seen by the bloc as a major disappointment for the lack of consensus

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st November, 2019) Europe will still have a guaranteed gas supply through the Nord Stream 2 and other pipeline projects that bypass Ukraine, Steffen Kotre, a member of the German Bundestag, told Sputnik on Friday, reacting to the outcome of this week's EU-mediated Russia-Ukraine talks on gas transit that are seen by the bloc as a major disappointment for the lack of consensus.

On Monday, the European Commission, Russia and Ukraine held consultations over the post-2019 transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, which ended in a deadlock. However, following the negotiations, Vice President of the European Commission for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic, who mediated the talks, told reporters that he ruled out the possibility of the disruption of Russian gas supplies to the European Union via Ukraine. On Friday, new hope for a positive outcome emerged as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that Kiev wanted to discuss the transit of Russian gas through the country after the current contract expires on January 1, 2020, at the next meeting of the Normandy Four leaders.

"The entire discussion demonstrates the reason why I have always been an advocate of Nord Stream 2. Europe needs to secure its independent energy-supply. As a matter of fact, if the negotiations happen to fail, Europe's gas supply will be guaranteed with the other already existing opportunities [TurkStream], which are not related to Ukraine. Of course, we consider Ukraine to be a partner and we want to help build peace and stability," Kotre, who is a member of the Alternative for Germany party, said in response to the question on the consequences of failing to reach an agreement on Monday.

According to the lawmaker, the deal might finally be signed next month since both Moscow and Kiev want to keep their international market credibility.

"If we [European Union] face a shortage, we are well prepared. Moreover, Nord Stream and very soon Nord Stream 2 is securing the Russian gas supply for Europe. In addition, the pipeline Turkish Stream [TurkStream] will also be able to transfer Russian gas to Europe," said Kotre, answering a question about whether there were any gas transit alternatives that the EU could turn toward.

The Nord Stream 2 project is a joint venture between Gazprom and five European companies France's ENGIE, Austria's OMV, the UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. The 745-mile-long twin pipeline will carry up to 1.942 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany, passing through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden.

Germany has championed the pipeline since the beginning of the project despite Washington's strong opposition. US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in late August that the United States was likely to introduce further sanctions against Russia over the pipeline.