Sputnik: EU Hopes for ‘Normal’ Russian Gas Supplies via Ukraine Beyond March 2015

The European Union hopes that gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine will remain stable after the South Stream pipeline construction was called off, Secretary-General of the European Union of the Natural Gas Industry Beate Raabe told Sputnik Thursday.

"It is important that the businesses continue to cooperate, we cannot change the political climate, as much as we hope the political parties will do their utmost to end the armed conflict in Ukraine and to find a lasting solution to the problem, because that will also help the energy market," Raabe said on the sidelines of the Russian Gas Forum.

Raabe also expressed hope that Moscow and Kiev would stick to the October agreement on Russian gas supplies to Ukraine during the winter period.

"At the moment we are hoping that the transit will continue through Ukraine, and both the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, and the companies involved will stick to the agreement that was reached in October, that we will first of all get through the winter, that the agreement of October will then be followed by an agreement beyond the month of March, so that we can continue gas supply in as normal a way as possible," Raabe added.  MORE