Contract with new TSO of Ukraine to allow Russia to start transit relations from clean slate – Naftogaz official
The availability of open disputes between Russia's Gazprom and NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy, the absence of a contract on gas supply between them for the period starting from 2020 are invented problems for signing a new gas transit contract, Naftogaz Executive Officer Yuriy Vitrenko has said.
"The new contract is not concluded with Naftogaz, but with a separate gas transmission system operator from Naftogaz. This is the result of the unbundling that everyone is talking about. So, if Gazprom and the Russian political leadership really want to start transit relations from a clean slate, then a contract with a separate operator is just such an option," he wrote on his Facebook page.
"But "starting from a clean slate" does not mean that "old slates" are disappearing. Let these "old slates" be examined by courts," Vitrenko said.
As reported, on January 1, 2020, a 10-year transit contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom expires. The European Commission has already proposed to Gazprom the option of concluding a transit contract for 10 years with an annual volume of 60 billion cubic meters supported by the Ukrainian side.
At the trilateral negotiations held in September in Brussels, the Ukrainian side presented the future operator of the Ukrainian gas transportation system, Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine LLC (TSO of Ukraine), which handed over draft agreements on cooperation between operators of adjacent gas transmission systems to the Russian delegation, as well as a standard transportation agreement. In addition, Naftogaz handed over a road map of actions to complete the unbundling of the TSO of Ukraine to Russia.