The Russian side will fulfill its obligations under the contract for the transit of gas through Ukraine, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Despite all the difficulties of today, Russia has assumed certain obligations under this contract. [по транзиту газа] and, of course, will fully comply with them, “Putin said (quoted by TASS).
The President stressed that the transit of gas through Ukraine and other gas issues should not be associated with negotiations in the Normandy format to resolve the situation in Ukraine. In response to the proposal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline at a future meeting of the leaders of the Normandy Four, Putin said that the Normandy format is a political platform for discussing the situation in the southeast of the country, which has nothing to do with commercial projects on gas transit.
Earlier, Zelensky has repeatedly stated that the construction of a Russian gas pipeline threatens the country’s energy security, since after the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Russia will refuse to transit gas through the country. On April 13, Zelensky said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro that he regards the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as an energy war. According to him, if it is completed, Ukraine will lose.
Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov replied that the agreement with Ukraine for the transit of gas to Europe will be in effect until its end, but after that Russia does not plan to refuse supplies through the Ukrainian gas transportation system.
Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, bypassing the Baltic states and Poland. The gas pipeline’s capacity is estimated at 55 billion cubic meters. meters of gas per year.
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