German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday praised the signing of a long-awaited Russian-Ukrainian pact on gas transit to Europe as a sign of the European Union's energy security
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st December, 2019) German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday praised the signing of a long-awaited Russian-Ukrainian pact on gas transit to Europe as a sign of the European Union's energy security.Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz finalized the deal late on Monday. It guarantees Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine for five years starting January 1.
"I am glad that one and a half years of talks on Russian gas transit through Ukraine could be successfully concluded. Continued gas transit ... is a good and important signal that our European gas supply will be guaranteed," Merkel said in a statement.
She thanked Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, EU Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier and the recent addition to the mediators' team, Georg Graf Waldersee.
Germany relies on Russia for much of its natural gas imports. Despite a slip in gas exports starting 2014, Russia remained the EU's biggest supplier in the first half of the outgoing year. It is about to complete a new undersea pipeline to Europe despite US sanctions on contractors.
