Gazprom is ready to continue transporting gas through Ukraine after 2024, based on the economic feasibility and technical condition of the gas transportation system of this country.
This was stated by the chairman of the board of "Gazprom" Alexey Miller.
“The issues of new volumes of gas purchases from Russia for transit through the territory of Ukraine should be resolved on market conditions and at market prices.
For the volume of new purchases of Russian gas via the Ukrainian route, in total, Gazprom is ready to increase the volume of transit through Ukraine, ”said Miller.
He also called the participation of German partners in the negotiation process "fully justified", given the EU's outlined plans to decarbonize the economy.
Speaking about the Nord Stream 2 trans-Baltic gas pipeline, Alexey Miller pointed out that this project will provide European consumers with cheaper gas due to a shorter supply route.
Gazprom has always approached Nord Stream 2 as an economic project.
Its goal is to ensure the reliability, stability and diversification of gas supplies to the EU market.
And also a decrease in the cost of gas for end consumers due to a shorter transport route - almost 2 thousand km less to the territory of Germany than through the gas transportation system of Ukraine, ”explained the head of Gazprom.
In addition, Nord Stream 2 is more in line with modern environmental requirements than a transit route through Ukraine.
In particular, carbon dioxide emissions through the gas pipeline are 5.6 times less than through the Ukrainian route.
The reason is the smaller number of compressor stations.
Reuters
© Jonathan Ernst
On the eve of the United States and Germany announced a deal on the "Nord Stream - 2". As part of the agreement, Washington acknowledged that sanctions would not stop its implementation, while Berlin pledged to seek an extension of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine after 2024 (at the end of 2019, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on gas transit for a period of five years). At the same time, the American authorities still intend to take measures if Russia allegedly uses the energy issue as a geopolitical weapon in Europe and takes aggressive actions against Ukraine.
As Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov pointed out, Russia has never used energy resources as a “weapon of political pressure” and did not try to solve any narrowly opportunistic goals by this: “We reject any accusations in this regard.
We see in such attempts nothing more than unfair competition. "
“Russia has always been and remains a responsible guarantor of the energy security of the European continent, and I would even speak on a broader, global scale.
No one will be able to name any precedents in this regard, "- said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.
The Kremlin spokesman also stressed that the issue of extending the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine after 2024 is tied solely to economic feasibility and profitability.
“We would like, would prefer to see also in the joint statement and the message to Ukraine that Ukraine should show a responsible position in terms of ensuring economically viable conditions for the continuation of such transit.
Unfortunately, we do not see such a message for Ukraine, ”he stated.
In turn, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova noted that the position of Washington and Berlin on Nord Stream 2, in particular, on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, is slightly at variance with the postulates they use “on the sovereignty of the state, on the sovereignty its industry, branches, about the sovereignty of decision-making in strategic sectors for each state. "
At the same time, she added that Russia never had intentions not to supply gas to Ukraine and through the territory of this country, such decisions were made in Kiev.
“This issue is of a purely commercial nature and is the prerogative of the relevant economic entities,” Zakharova said during the briefing.
She also stressed that the US-German statement demonstrated who and how will manage the development of the fuel and energy complex of Ukraine.
It is worth noting that the decision of the United States and Germany did not find support in Kiev, as well as in Warsaw and Vilnius.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that the deal between the two countries does not resolve the issue of the country's energy security.
His Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis called the agreement a mistake, while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated the US selfish position.