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US hinders Ukraine-Russia gas relations to supply gas to Europe — expert

The pundit reproached the new Ukrainian leadership for repeating the mistakes of the previous government and making Ukraine dependent on the West
A sign outside the office of Naftogaz of Ukraine Igor Yashkin/TASS
A sign outside the office of Naftogaz of Ukraine
© Igor Yashkin/TASS

KIEV, October 22. /TASS/. The United States hinders gas cooperation between Ukraine and Russia, as it is interested in supplying its own liquefied gas to Europe, according to political analyst Alexei Kalinichenko.

"As long as the United States wants to supply its liquefied natural gas to the European market, it would naturally impede the relations in the gas field between Russia and Ukraine in every way," he said on Tuesday in an interview with 112 Ukraine TV channel.

In this regard, the expert reproached the new Ukrainian leadership for repeating the mistakes of the previous government and making Ukraine dependent on the West. Kalinichenko said he believes that Kiev needs to consider Moscow’s proposal for a 20-25% discount on Russian gas.

It was reported earlier that Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union held technical consultations on October 21 in Brussels in the leadup to a trilateral meeting at the ministerial level, scheduled for October 28. "Ukraine, the European Commission and Russia held technical consultations in preparation for the next phase of trilateral negotiations on the transit of Russian gas after January 1, 2020. The meeting was held on Monday in Brussels," Naftogaz of Ukraine said.

According to the company’s press service, during the meeting, the parties discussed signing an agreement on interaction between the gas transmission system operators of Ukraine and Russia, the methodology of tariff formation during gas transportation, and the progress in creating an independent gas transmission system operator in Ukraine.

The latest trilateral gas consultations between Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union took place on September 19. After the meeting, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that for the first time in many years, the consultations were very constructive.

The parties also stated that continuing transit through Ukraine and supplies of Russian gas to Europe are possible in almost any scenario, and that Gazprom, Ukraine, and consumers in Europe would pump record volumes of gas into underground storage facilities for a "rainy day."