Ukraine should continue to play the key role in gas shipments to the European Union, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said.

"We reaffirmed our joint position that Ukraine is a reliable EU partner on gas transit issues, we should further retain the key role in Russian gas transportation to European consumers," Poroshenko told a press conference in Brussels on Thursday.

"The first complete year when Ukraine had not a single cubic meter of Russian gas ended on November 21. The attempt to bring Ukraine to its knees by energy blackmail has failed," Poroshenko said.

Ukraine and European partners agreed to continue bolstering energy partnership, Poroshenko said.

"Documentary evidence of this is the signing of an agreement on energy solidarity between Ukraine and the European Commission by Minister [of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Ihor] Nasalyk and the European Commission vice president today," the head of state said.

"By all appearances, the decision to expand Gazprom's access to the gas market, to our mind, does not comply with the Association Agreement and the Agreement on Energy Community," he also said.