Ukraine must fight to retain sustainable gas transit after 2019 – expert

Director of Energy Programs of Razumkov Center Volodymyr Omelchenko has said the Ukrainian government should put forward before a company willing to become a partner of the state-owned "Main Gas Pipelines of Ukraine" for the management of the Ukrainian gas transmission system a requirement to retain gas transit from Russia to the European Union after 2019 at a minimum of 50 billion cubic meters per year.

"When creating a consortium and selecting a partner to participate in this consortium, the Ukrainian government must set a condition – to retain gas transit no lower than 50 billion cubic meters per year," he said during a roundtable.

Read alsoEnergy expert on TurkStream: Putin's goal to deprive Ukraine of transit state statusAccording to the expert, Ukraine must pump a minimum of 50 billion cubic meters annually starting to make gas transit business profitable and ensure a payback of costs for maintaining the Ukrainian gas transmission system.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Cabinet plans on February 21-22 to hold the first round of negotiations with potential partners in managing the GTS. According to Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Kistion, seven partners have already expressed interest, two of whom represent well-known gas consortiums.