Ukraine warns countries – EU members to prepare for a gas crisis amid uncertain prospects for agreeing on a new transit contract with the Russian Federation before the current deal expires, the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal said, as quoted by The Bloomberg news agency.
Ms Zerkal, in a phone interview from The Hague said it was “highly probable” that a new accord would not be concluded by Jan. 1, 2020, following the end of the current agreement ends.
“As long as Russia holds off the negotiations on future contract, the gloomy scenario of a gas crisis should be considered seriously. That is why every European nation, including Ukraine, is increasing gas stock in storage sites,” said the Deputy Minister of Ukraine.
It is also noted that more than a third of Europe’s gas comes from Russia, with most of it to go through Ukraine’s Soviet-era pipelines.
The Ukrainian pipeline operator Ukrtransgaz proposes the EU countries to store as much as 4 billion cubic meters of gas in their underground storage facilities to guarantee security of supply for eastern European countries.
As The Journalist reported, Koboliev warned about crisis due to insufficient money in Naftogaz and termination of Russian gas transit.
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