MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia is ready to continue gas transit through Ukraine beyond 2024, but should understand the volume of purchases of its gas in Europe, President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference on Friday following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Kremlin.
"We are ready, let me reiterate it, I already said it publicly and I want to underscore that we are ready to transit gas through the territory of Ukraine after 2024. But we must understand - for how long and in what volume. So, in order to understand that we need to receive an answer particularly from our European partners; that is how much are they ready to buy from us? So, this is obvious. We cannot draw up a transit contract if we do not have supply contracts for our consumers in Europe," Putin clarified.
He also said that he had assured Merkel that Russia would fully comply with the agreements on Ukrainian transit even after she steps down from her post as chancellor.
The Russian leader noted that today not only the volume of supplies, but supplies as such remain in question due to the intensive development of the "green" agenda in Europe.
However, Putin stressed, Europeans do not have a more reliable source of energy resources than Russian gas. "Today, there is no other more reliable source than Russian gas for German and European consumers," he said.
The President recalled that gas consumption volumes continue to grow. "This is especially true for supplies to Southern Europe," the Russian leader said.
About gas transit via Ukraine
In December 2019, Moscow and Kiev agreed to extend the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory from 2020 to 2024, with the possibility of extending the agreement for another 10 years. The contract includes the transit of 65 bln cubic meters of gas in 2020 and 40 bln cubic meters annually from 2021 to 2024. The transit arrangement assumes a "take-or-pay" principle, when a transit fee is charged in the amount of the booked capacity, regardless of the actual pumping volume.
Last year, the transit of Russian gas to Europe through the Ukrainian gas transmission system amounted to 55.8 billion cubic meters, which was the lowest volume in the last 30 years.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told reporters he does not rule out the possibility of increasing the volume of gas transit through the territory of Ukraine above its current obligations after the expiration of the contract for pumping gas in 2024. But this issue should be resolved by market conditions and at market prices, he insisted.