NEW YORK, September 10. /TASS/. The Ukrainian authorities’ refusal to extend the contract for transit of Russian gas through the country’s territory, which expires this December, will seriously weaken Kiev’s strategic position, Bloomberg reported.

"The end of transit through Ukraine really represents the end of an era that has been slowly simmering," said Margarita Balmaceda, an international relations professor at Seton Hall University. For the European energy market, "it means more uncertainty," the agency said.

Nobody needs a renewal of the gas-transit contract quite as much as Kiev which risks losing up to $800 mln a year in transit fees, while greater efforts would be required for reaching a new agreement in the future, according to Bloomberg. Moreover, Kiev may lose its "long-held strategic position as a conduit of affordable energy for western allies," the agency said.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said earlier that Kiev would not extend its agreement with Gazprom to transit Russian gas through Ukraine after it expired at the end of the year. Ukraine will make a decision about the transit of Russian gas through its territory to Europe jointly with the EU, he added.