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Russia will not stop transit via Ukraine but conditions should be competitive, says Lavrov

The agreement is to expire next year, but the Russian authorities are considering its possible extantion

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Russia does not intend to halt transit of natural gas via the territory of Ukraine but its volumes and conditions should correspondent to market ones, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday in an interview with Italy’s AGI news agency.

"The agreement on transit of Russian natural gas through the territory of Ukraine will expire next year. President Vladimir Putin asked the senior management of the Russian Ministry of Energy and Gazprom to consider the issue concerning its possible extension. Consultations of experts from Russia, Ukraine, and the EU were held in Brussels in September-October of this year. I would like to stress in this context that the Russian side did not speak about termination of gas transit via Ukraine after 2019 but its volumes and conditions must be agreed with the framework of relevant talks on a pragmatic and market basis," the Minister said.

Cooperation in the energy sphere has strategic importance in Russian-Italian relations, Lavrov added. "This topic was discussed in detail during talks of President Putin with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on October 24. Russia remains the top supplier of natural gas to Italy, covering about 35% of Italy’s demand for natural gas," the Minister noted.

The Italian business is interested in taking part in projects on Russian gas supply to Europe, Lavrov said. "Opportunities of engaging Italian companies in construction of the gas transport infrastructure to European nations within the ‘southern route’ framework are considered at the corporate level," he added.

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