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Ukrainian opposition politician calls for talks on direct gas import from Russia

Viktor Medvedchuk urged Kiev to give up political speculations on this issue and to act exclusively in the interests of the state

KIEV, January 4. /TASS/. Now, that they have realized there is no alternative to Russia’s natural gas, the Ukrainian authorities should enter into negotiations on its direct import, the head of the political council of the Opposition Platform-For Life party, Viktor Medvedchuk, said following Naftogaz CEO Yuri Vitrenko’s recognition there were problems with the diversification of gas supplies.

"Kiev seems to have come to senses, to have realized or to have decided to acknowledge that for many years Ukraine has consumed Russian gas purchased from third parties - ostensibly from European providers - and that there is no alternative to Russian fuel. If the Ukrainian authorities are really concerned about the country’s energy security, their next step should be cardinal revision of approaches to ensuring gas supplies proceeding from the economic and strategic interests of Ukraine itself," Medvedchuk said in a statement uploaded to the party’s website.

Medvedchuk recalled Vitrenko’s warning that Ukrainian ports lacked the terminals capable of accommodating LNG carriers.

"Moreover, the delivery of such gas to Ukraine is a great problem. As for the possibility of purchasing gas from US exporters, Vitrenko dismissed this option as "financial gambling unable to resolve the problem of the country’s energy security."

He urged Kiev to give up political speculations on this issue and to act exclusively in the interests of the state.

"Firstly, for achieving an uninterrupted flow of gas at a reasonable price, without paying a huge margin to European exchange brokers Kiev should enter into negotiations on direct purchases of gas from Russia," Medvedchuk said. Also, he argues that the Ukrainian authorities should start talks on preserving the Russian gas transit to Europe and to approach seriously the issue of creating a trilateral gas pipeline consortium, which has been discussed for many years.

Medvedchuk is certain that time is ripe for the authorities to reset bilateral relations with Russia and to revise the energy strategy to bring it in line with the real market situation and the interests of Ukraine and its people before it is too late.