Kyiv, December 31 (Interfax) - Ukraine will be unable to guarantee the transit of Russian natural gas to Western Europe through its territory if it fails to conclude a contract with Russia on gas supply to Ukraine and terms and conditions of its transit to Europe in 2009, a Kyiv source told Interfax.
“Ukraine may start confiscating gas coming to the Ukrainian gas transportation system starting from January 1 if there is no agreement with Russia,” he said.
Naftogaz Ukrainy, the national energy provider, forwarded an official letter to Gazprom on Wednesday to notify it on this position, the source said.
“The letter says that, if the terms and conditions of gas supply and transit are not urgently agreed upon and if relevant documents are not signed, then starting from January 1, 2009, Naftogaz Ukrainy will not have legal grounds to accept natural gas coming to the Ukrainian gas transportation system from Russian territory and to transport it through the Ukrainian customs border,” the source said.
“The letter says literally that, if such gas comes into the Ukrainian gas transportation system, it will be identified as belonging to an unidentified owner, which could lead to its confiscation in line with Ukrainian law,” he said.
“Taking into account the aforementioned, Naftogaz Ukrainy will have to warn the European Union countries about this situation,” the source said.
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov responded by calling Naftogaz Ukrainy’sthreat as blackmail and flagrant violation of agreements concluded earlier.
Asked by journalists on Wednesday whether Gazprom received a letter with such a warning from Naftogaz, Kupriyanov replied that, since the fact of this letter had become known to the media, he could confirm its receipt.
“The matter is about a flagrant violation of a document on transit of Russian gas to Western Europe, which has been signed and which is valid. Simply speaking, this means that Ukraine blackmails not only Russia but also the countries of Western Europe,” Kupriyanov said
Meanwhile, the first deputy head of the presidential secretariat, Oleksandr Shlapak, has said that Ukrainian citizens will not feel the effect of gas and heat supply restrictions despite the talks being held between the governments of Ukraine and Russia.
“The course of gas negotiations is not a reason for Ukrainian citizens to worry. Ukraine is ready for any scenario of developments. It has enough gas in its storage facilities for domestic problems,” the presidential press service quoted him as saying on Wednesday.
