European Commission calls on Ukraine, Russia to resume gas transit talks after Stockholm arbitration

14:36, 13.06.2017 1 min read

The European Commission (EC) is calling on Ukraine and Russia to resume talks on gas transit following the conclusion of the Stockholm arbitration, EC Vice President Maros Sefcovic said after a meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on June 11.

"We discussed the necessity of continuing gas transit via Ukraine after 2019. The Stockholm arbitration will come to an end and should clarify unresolved issues. I confirmed the interest of European Union companies in cooperating with Ukrainian partners for secure and commercially viable gas transit via Ukraine in the future. We agreed that talks on the commercial aspects of transit should be resumed with companies as soon as possible," Sefcovic said.

Ukraine increased gas transit via its gas transportation system by 21.8%, or by 6.859 billion cubic meters (bcm) year-on-year in January-May 2017, to 38.255 bcm.