The gas transportation system of Ukraine will not revert to the transit of Russian gas, and there are currently no proposals for specific alternative supplies, stated Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
"I believe we will not restore Russian gas. Technically, we can resume transit, but Russian gas will not flow through this pipeline. This is important," the minister said in an interview with LB live.
He also highlighted the irrelevance of discussions regarding what type of gas this could be, as there are no concrete proposals from any country or company for transit.
"Experts immediately started saying, no, this won't be, for example, Azerbaijani gas; it will still be a Russian molecule. I don't even want to discuss this right now because, at this moment, there is not a single concrete proposal on the table stating that we are ready to supply this, this, and this from a certain date. It does not exist," Halushchenko noted.
He emphasized that Ukraine has consistently prepared for the decision to cease gas transit from Russia and informed all partners in advance, thus giving everyone the opportunity to prepare for alternative supplies. However, as he pointed out, some countries simply do not want to do this, as gas for the Russian Federation is a "political effect, influence, weapon."
As reported, on February 7, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice Olga Stefanishyna stated that the gas issue is a subject of internal dialogue among some countries, particularly Slovakia with the European Commission. According to her, if there are any appeals to Ukraine as a result of this dialogue, it will respond to them.
"But discussions about extending the contract are impossible because it has expired, and there are no agreements being discussed either from our side or from the European Union," she added.