REUTERS
Ukraine's position in talks will be firm and responsible, the prime minister said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says Ukraine and representatives of the European Commission have agreed to start trilateral negotiations with Russia on transit of Russia's gas to EU states through the territory of Ukraine.
"Ukraine and the EU have agreed to start trilateral talks with the Russian Federation on gas transit to Europe. Ukraine's position in these negotiations will be firm and responsible," he tweeted following a meeting with Vice President of the European Commission on Energy Union Maros Sefcovic on May 25.
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According to the prime minister, the use of the domestic gas transportation system (GTS) is a reliable alternative to the Nord Stream 2 project, which is now rather a political project, imposing a threat to Europe's energy security, the governmental press service said.
It is reported the parties have decided to agree on the use of the Ukrainian GTS on mutually beneficial terms.
The issue of integration of Ukraine's integrated power grids into the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) was raised as well. Groysman stressed the move could be a good example for other areas and sectors of cooperation.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Nord Stream 2 project involves the construction of two strings of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year from the Russian coast via the Baltic Sea to Germany. A new pipeline is expected to be built next to Nord Stream 1.
The construction of Nord Stream 2 is to start in 2018 and end by late 2019.
Poland, the Baltic states and Ukraine oppose the project.