The Ukrainian side expects to conclude contracts with European companies for gas transit based on the results of technical consultations with the support of the United States and Germany.

This was announced on the air of the 1 + 1 TV channel by the head of Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko.

According to him, this should become a guarantee that Ukraine will remain a gas player even after the launch of Nord Stream 2.

“The best guarantee is just contracts with European companies, and we are now waiting for the promised so-called consultations at the technical level, but in fact it should be negotiations that the Germans should organize.

And during these negotiations, we will talk with specific European companies about specific contracts for gas transit through Ukraine.

This is what we need, ”Vitrenko said.

He explained that if these companies violate the agreements, Kiev will have the opportunity to file claims against them in European courts.

“But I think that European companies will not violate contracts,” the head of Naftogaz said.

Vitrenko also noted that Kiev is also considering the option of extending the contract with Gazprom for transit through Ukraine.

“But this is not our most important task, and this is not the best guarantee,” said the top manager.

  • Head of Naftogaz Yuri Vitrenko

  • AFP

  • © Genya Savilov

In addition, he said that the United States had given Kiev guarantees on sanctions against Russia in the event that opportunities in the gas sector will be used as a "weapon."

However, he admitted that he had not seen documents that would confirm Washington's promises.

“The guarantees that Ukraine really needs are not some papers signed by politicians.

And these are contracts with European companies for transit, but if there are no such contracts, if Gazprom continues to block the access of third parties, European companies to transit through Ukraine, then there should be sanctions, ”Vitrenko said.

"Threats are groundless and useless"

Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of intending to use Nord Stream 2 as an instrument of influence.

In particular, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the pipeline is "an exclusively commercial project that cannot pose any threat to anyone."

At the same time, he stated that Russia was and remains a responsible guarantor of Europe's energy security.

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov spoke on this topic earlier, calling such accusations unfair competition: “Attempts to present us as an aggressor and a country conducting“ malicious ”activities have long become a hallmark of Russophobes.

Threats against us are groundless and useless. "

The diplomat emphasized that talk about restrictions from the same United States is nothing more than a desire to secure an advantage in the European energy market.

At the end of July, the operator of the Nord Stream 2 AG project reported that Nord Stream 2 was already 99% complete.

The completion of the laying of the first string of the gas pipeline in early summer was announced by Vladimir Putin, according to whom the project is economically highly efficient and fully complies with the most stringent environmental standards and technical requirements.

It should be reminded that Nord Stream 2 is two strings of a gas pipeline with a length of over 1.2 thousand kilometers each and a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year.

They are laid along the bottom of the Baltic Sea through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Russia, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

As Alexei Miller, Chairman of the Board of Gazprom, noted on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum on September 3, the wait for the completion of the construction of the gas pipeline is “not long”.

He previously noted that the first gas supplies could begin before the end of 2021.

  • The multipurpose vessel Fortuna laid most of the remaining section of the pipeline in Danish waters in the spring and summer of 2021

  • © Nord Stream 2 / Axel Schmidt

"Reserve pipe"

Commenting on the situation around Nord Stream 2 and Ukraine's gas transit prospects, RT sources in the republic's political circles were skeptical about expectations from contract negotiations with European companies.

“It is beneficial for Ukraine that at least 30-40 billion cubic meters of gas are pumped through the pipe.

However, no one gives any guarantees and it is not clear for how long the proposed contract will be concluded.

In fact, the Ukrainian GTS will not become the main “pipe” for Europe, but only a reserve one, ”said an RT interlocutor from the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers noted that they do not really count on Germany's assistance during the negotiations, calling such assistance a fiction.

“All these contracts are an attempt to reassure Ukraine that it will not be left without Russian gas.

The country's GTS is old and needs to be modernized.

Therefore, there is no special sense in a large volume of pumping.

And the statements that, if something happens, Ukraine will file a lawsuit look rather ridiculous, "says a RT source in the Ukrainian government.

In turn, the interlocutor of RT from the Servant of the People party called Vitrenko's statement that the extension of the contract with Gazprom after 2024 is not the main task for Kiev as absurd.

“How does the government expect to supply Russian gas to Europe without the consent of the Russian company?

And the question of repairing the GTS is open - who will finance it?

Where to get funds for this?

Ukraine has lost this "gas war", - stated the politician.

He also believes that Kiev should not count on Washington's promises to impose sanctions against Russia in the event of alleged threats from its side.

According to the interlocutor of RT, any US actions in this direction will be carried out only in the interests of the White House.

“Oral agreements with the United States on sanctions against Russia, oral agreements with Germany - these are all attempts to reassure Ukrainian officials.

No one in Washington will prioritize the interests of another country, so they will talk, give a loan, and that's it, ”the politician is sure.

Experts, for their part, note that Kiev, making loud statements about the non-priority of agreements with Gazprom, is only trying to attract attention and politicize the negotiation process.

“This position is extremely unconstructive.

After all, Kiev needs to keep transit.

However, they are determined to deepen their disagreements with Russia.

Such a course forms a rather strange structure, within which Ukraine expects trilateral consultations with those who are not a party to the transit agreement, "Aleksey Grivach, deputy general director for gas problems at the National Energy Security Fund, explained in a conversation with RT.

  • Meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

  • © kmu.gov.ua

According to him, Kiev has been striving for European contracts for a long time, but no one in the EU wants to get involved with Ukraine and take risks, because in this case, the Western partners will not have guarantees that the Kiev authorities will in good faith fulfill their part of the obligations.

A similar point of view is shared by Vladimir Olenchenko, Senior Researcher at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAS.

According to him, Ukraine is only an intermediary in gas issues.

“German and European companies in general are hardly interested in contracts with Ukraine, especially since it is not a gas supplier, but only a transit country.

It’s the same if concluding a contract with a courier for the delivery of food is pointless and paradoxical, ”Olenchenko said.

Thus, the expert explains, it is more expedient for European companies to negotiate directly with Russia if they want to buy high-quality gas at optimal prices.

Analysts are also confident that the United States, which Ukraine calls its strategic ally, will continue to use it exclusively for its own purposes.

“The United States will continue to act on the basis of its own ideas about the expediency of certain steps.

If they want, then, of course, they will impose sanctions, but obviously not at the request of Ukraine, ”says Oleksiy Grivach.

In turn, Vladimir Olenchenko believes that this is why Washington is in no hurry to consolidate its promises to Kiev on paper.

“The current Ukrainian authorities are in a frenzy of sanctions.

Therefore, they turn to the United States for anti-Russian restrictions, and also constantly appeal to other countries, but they do not succeed.

Biden's promises to Zelenskiy cannot be considered guarantees.

Washington's actions do not depend in any way on Ukraine, its wishes and phobias, ”the expert summed up.