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It is now official, the gas war will not take place between Ukraine and Russia. The two countries signed a crucial contract Monday, December 30, for the circulation of Russian gas to Europe, throughout Ukrainian territory.
With our correspondent in Kiev , Stéphane Siohan
The previous contract expired very exactly today, this December 31. While Russia has been trying for several years to distribute its gas in Europe via other pipelines, notably in the Baltic Sea, Ukraine is trying to keep hold of this important financial rent which its statute of transit country gives it.
► Also read: Agreement between the Russian Gazprom and the Ukrainian Naftogaz
Brussels had been piloting extremely difficult negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for several weeks in order to renew a gas contract between the two countries. This agreement concerns a fixed volume of gas, coming from Russia, transiting through Ukraine, whereas any failure of the discussions could have caused supply disruptions in Europe.
Five years contract
The contract signed Monday evening spans five years, it provides that the Russian giant Gazprom will circulate through Ukraine 65 billion cubic meters of gas next year, and then 40 billion cubic meters per year. The activity will bring over $ 7 billion to Ukraine, while Gazprom had to pay its Ukrainian counterpart Naftogaz a fine of $ 3 billion last week due to a dispute between the two companies.
It should be remembered that 35% of European gas comes from Russia. Europe remains very dependent on Ukrainian transit, even if it has fallen by 40% over the past fifteen years, with the multiplication of gas routes to Europe.