Economy

Extending contract on gas transit via Ukraine facilitates EU integration – Klimkin

The extension of the contract for the transit of Russian gas to the EU via Ukraine after 2019 will contribute to Ukraine's speedy EU integration, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

"Ukraine has done a lot to introduce European rules on the gas market, important issues that remain open - for example, unbundling - are also resolved in accordance with the principles of the EU. At trilateral consultations, it is important for us that the transportation of Russian gas in the future takes place in accordance with the new European rules that operate in Ukraine," Klimkin said in an op-ed published by the Kyiv-based Yevropeiska Pravda ezine.

Klimkin expressed the hope that all participants in the consultations would support such a position of Ukraine.

"Ukraine is interested in this, because the transit will be carried out in transparent and competitive way. The European Union - since it will have a clear legal framework for transportation, and therefore, greater predictability and stability of gas supplies. Finally, for Russia, Brussels's close attention to the conformity of Ukrainian norms to the requirements of the EU will be an additional guarantee of compliance with contractual terms," Klimkin said.

He stressed that the European rules for transit would rule out the possibility of arbitrary imposition of contract terms by either party, since, for example, tariffs will be set by regulators according to the EU methodology, and all disputes will be decided in a European court.

Klimkin said following the consultations to be held in Berlin on July 17, nobody should expect decisions on the volumes of gas transit.

"If we agree on the adoption of European rules, then only we can talk about such parameters of gas transit as volumes and all the rest," he said.

As reported, the delegation of Ukraine at the trilateral negotiations with Russia and the EU on the terms of gas transportation will be headed by Klimkin and Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev. Consultations on July 17 at the EU Delegation in Berlin will also be attended by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom officials.

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