LONDON, October 7. /TASS/. Termination of Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine after 2024 in view of expiration of the bilateral contract may create risks for fuel supplies to Ukraine, Mario Holzner, the Director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, told The Financial Times.
"Europe will start the winter with its gas storage [units] pretty much full, but a cut-off by Ukraine would clearly create more of a problem for the landlocked countries of central Europe," Holzner said, cited by the news outlet.
"It’s also a risky decision for Ukraine," he noted. Further to the loss of transit fees, the pipeline shutdown could "even threaten Ukraine’s own gas supply if its pipeline infrastructure becomes a target," the director added.
The International Energy Agency earlier highlighted the significant risk for the full stop of Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine after 2024, because the gas transit contract between the two countries expires at the turn of this year.