Possibility of retaining gas transit role by Ukraine depends on Ukrainian market's integration with European one

11:19, 05.01.2016 1 min read

The retaining of the natural gas transit status by Ukraine mainly depends on the integration of its domestic market with the European one, Board Chairman of national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy Andriy Kobolev has said.

"For our part it is very important to stick to all those European rules we've introduced, are introducing and will introduce regarding the gas market reform. It is very important for us to become part of the European gas market with all its attributes. This concerns transparency, free access, competition, tariffs and the balance between the regulator and market players," he said in an interview with Channel 5 TV broadcasted late on Monday.

"The more we resemble the European gas market, the fewer chances Russians have to over-persuade Europe to stop Ukrainian transit and switch to transit via Nord Stream," Kobolev said.

As reported, the Nord Steam 2 project foresees construction of three and four branches of the Baltic pipeline, bringing its capacity to 110 billion cubic meters a year.