Russian President Vladimir Putin doubts that the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine should be halted.

"As for the transit through Ukraine. Yes, I have heard on the corporate level, I have heard it myself that someone said during the heated discussions that we will halt this transit altogether. I am not sure it should be done," the president told an annual press conference in Moscow on Thursday.

When he spoke of comparing the capabilities of Ukrainian transit and Nord Stream 2, Putin emphasized: "Everyone is demanding that Nord Stream generally and its second branch in the future should meet certain requirements: reliability, market manner of gas transport system operation, legal and administrative regulation according to the highest standards."

"Are our Ukrainian partners capable of doing the same that we are doing with our European partners in Nord Stream? If they are capable, we will continue working with them, if they are not, then we will see what we can do with it," Putin said.