A possible new contract for the transit of Russian natural gas to the European Union should be based on European rules, which will protect Ukraine’s interests and prevent Russia from resorting to non-market and non-competitive methods, and should comply with the rulings of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

The press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that on January 22, trilateral talks between Ukraine, the European Commission, and the Russian Federation were held in Brussels to discuss the upcoming natural gas transit through the territory of Ukraine upon completion in 2019 of the transit contract between the national JSC Naftogaz Ukrainy and the public JSC Gazprom.

"The Russian party proposed that the existing contracts be extended. The Ukrainian side announced its readiness to consider future transactions only if they fully comply with European energy legislation, which is currently being implemented in Ukraine. A contract based on European rules will protect Ukraine’s interests and will not allow Russia to resort to non-competitive methods that have been used by it repeatedly," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said the stance of the Ukrainian party is shared in full by the European Commission, whose representatives mentioned significant progress Ukraine had made in implementing European legislation on its gas market.

"During the talks, the delegation of Ukraine stated that future agreements with Gazprom should comply with the decisions taken by the Arbitration Institute of the SCC and provide for the fulfillment by the Russian side of its obligations," the ministry said.

According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the European Commission also confirmed that the decisions of previous courts should be implemented in their entirety, and Ukraine has the full right to file new claims.