UPI: EU: Gas security still hinges on Ukraine
Though diversification strategies are on the table, a European official told Russia state media Ukraine plays a critical role in regional energy security.
Europe gets about a quarter of its natural gas supplies from Russia, though most of that runs through the Soviet-era pipeline network in Ukraine. Contractual disputes in 2006 and 2009 between Kiev and gas supplier Gazprom left downstream consumers in Europe in the cold for weeks and recent turmoil in Ukraine has only exacerbated the problem.
Beate Raabe, a natural gas director for the European Union, said Ukraine is still a vital part of the energy security chain.