KIEV, September 17 /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine has asked the European Union to discuss reduced volumes of transit gas transported via the territories of Ukraine and Slovakia at the forthcoming negotiations with Russia.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry is seriously concerned with the dwindling gas volumes transported via Ukraine and Slovakia.

“The reduction is serious and is a source of concern for Ukrainian government because it can have implications for the energy security of Ukraine and countries of the European Union,” Ukraine’s Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said in a letter addressed to European Commission’s Vice-President Guenther Oettinger. He also insisted on putting the issue on the agenda of the forthcoming Ukraine-EU-Russia trilateral talks initially scheduled to take place on September 22.

Gazprom’s official representative Sergei Kupriyanov told Itar-Tass on Monday that European consumers have been receiving smaller gas volumes from Russia than they initially requested because gas was being pumped into underground storage reservoirs.

Kupriyanov added that gas transits via Ukraine to Slovakia had also fallen due to the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline which has resumed operation after repairs.

“Part of the gas volumes has returned to the Yamal-Europe pipeline,” he added.

Previously, a number of European consumers claimed they were not receiving the requested gas volumes from Gazprom.