Ukraine will be able to achieve the transfer of entry points for export of gas by Gazprom to the Ukrainian-Russian border only in close cooperation with the European Commission and other European institutions.
This opinion was expressed by representatives of Naftogaz Ukrainy and the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) at an online briefing devoted to five years of gas independence held on Friday.
“We believe that the possibility of transferring entry points is technically possible. But there is no political consent on the part of the Russian Federation, because they understand that the European gas market is declining and do not want additional competitors. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to fight against the monopoly position of the Russian Federation together with our European partners and institutions. They will allow us to create such conditions to force the Russian Federation to allow the transit of energy resources through its territory and, if European traders have such a desire, to move the gas entry points to the Ukraine-Russia border,” Director General of GTSOU Serhiy Makogon said.
According to him, European traders have already approached the Russian Federation with a similar proposal, but so far received a negative answer.
According to Lana Zerkal, advisor to the executive board chairman of Naftogaz Ukrainy, it is extremely important for Ukraine to involve the European Commission to cooperate in this process.
“It is the involvement of the European Commission as a moderator of such a discussion that is extremely important, since we already have a positive experience of conducting such trilateral negotiations in the gas sector. And here we should not look like a supplicant. We should do our part of the homework, namely: together with the European Commission conduct full screening and full monitoring of Ukrainian legislation on its compliance with the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, which will give us the necessary basis for further joint work,” Zerkal said.
The relocation of Russian gas entry points to the eastern border of Ukraine will allow the country to more closely integrate into the European gas market and, in particular, to even more actively involve European traders in the placement of gas in Ukrainian underground storage facilities, she said.
