REUTERS
The two countries' gas transmission systems can easily cope with the task.
CEO of National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolyev says the gas transmission systems (GTS) of Ukraine and Slovakia are ready to ensure Russian gas supplies to European countries instead of the OPAL gas pipeline, access to which was limited.
Read alsoNaftogaz reacts to European court ruling on OPAL gas pipeline
"If Gazprom wants to continue delivering these volumes of gas to the same place as it was done via OPAL, but in a shorter way, the Ukrainian and Slovak gas transmission systems can easily cope with this [task], like they had done before Gazprom gained exclusive access to OPAL," he wrote on Facebook on September 13.
"We are pleased that the European Court recognized the importance of the principle of solidarity, and the German regulator promptly responded to the court's ruling... It is good that the court restored justice and defended competition. And yet, it's better not to create opportunities for abuse at all," he added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the German-based OPAL Gastransport GmbH & Co operator of the OPAL gas pipeline, through which gas flows from Nord Stream to Central Europe's markets, said it had limited access to its gas pipeline's capacities from September 14 under the European Court's ruling.
Earlier, the General Court (EGC) canceled Russia's expanded access to the OPAL gas pipeline.
Germany's OPAL gas pipeline, built in 2011, is an onshore continuation of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which supplies gas from Russia to the EU countries. Its total length is 470 kilometers with a capacity of 36.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.