Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko has ruled out the possibility of concluding commercial agreements that would allow Russian gas to be supplied through the country after the transit agreement expires at the end of the year. He said this in an interview with Bloomberg, UNN reports.
Bloomberg notes that the European Union and Ukraine have previously said they will not renegotiate the current contract, but some market participants are optimistic about the possibility of private deals to deliver fuel to the trading bloc.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko denied this option.
"I don't see any such possibility. There are no possible solutions on the table," he said.
The agency notes that after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia stopped most of its supplies to Europe, but some flows continue to go through Ukraine in smaller volumes than contracted. These supplies cover most of the demand in countries such as Austria, Hungary and Slovakia.
Instead of continuing to buy Russian gas, Galushchenko called on European countries to store fuel in Ukraine's large reservoirs. According to him, Ukraine can offer 15 billion cubic meters of gas, which is more than the 14 billion cubic meters of Russian fuel that passed through Ukraine last year.
"I think this is fair. There is no need to say that we cannot live without Russian gas," the minister emphasized.