Ukraine, EC to Invite Russia to Gas Transit Talks

Ukraine and the European Commission have agreed to hold negotiations on the transit of Russian natural  gas to European consumers with the participation of Russia, according to Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine's prime minister, after meeting the European Union's commissioner for the energy union, Maros Sefvcovic, May 25.

"We have agreed to conduct gas transit negotiations in the trilateral format of the EU-Ukraine-Russia. Ukraine will take a responsible and firm stance," said Groysman, stressing that Ukraine's gas transmission system is a solid alternative to Nord Stream 2, which is mostly a political project that threatens European energy security. The parties have agreed to co-ordinate their positions on using the Ukrainian pipelines to the benefit of both.

Naftogaz of Ukraine is also ready to participate in the trilateral negotiations, CEO Andriy Kobolev said. "We welcome the talks with the EC. We hope that Gazprom will be involved in these negotiations," he said.

Referring to his experience, he noted that the negotiations should be conducted directly with Gazprom, and not only with the energy minister, since at similar talks in the past, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller had said, as a joint stock company rather than a branch of government like Naftogaz, that it did not need to know the minister's position. Miller was attending the St Petersburg Economic Forum May 24-25.