REUTERS
Gerus said the increase in domestic gas production was Ukraine's key priority.
Chairman of Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy, Housing and Utilities Andriy Gerus says he hopes for successful negotiations with Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom on gas transit via the Ukrainian territory, but at the same time the government is preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Read alsoTrilateral talks on Russian gas transit via Ukraine scheduled for Oct 28
"Naftogaz [of Ukraine] has done a good job of pumping gas [into the underground storage facilities]. I hope the negotiations that have now intensified with representatives of Russia's Gazprom will also end successfully, yielding results. Thus, gas transit via Ukraine will be preserved and we will have a good winter [heating season]. In any case, we are preparing for the worst-case scenario since the better you are prepared, the less likely it is to happen," he said at the Ukrainian Gas Forum in Kyiv on October 10.
The official added the increase in domestic gas production was Ukraine's key priority. However, only a competitive market will prevent price hikes in the forthcoming heating season.
"We have to realize that competition should emerge on the market, which is created by traders who import gas. So the importers' role is vital in building an effective competitive market," Gerus said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, on October 9, Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said Ukraine was interested in signing a long-term contract for the transit of Russian gas. Therefore, a one-year interim agreement is unacceptable for the country.
Trilateral talks between Ukraine, European Union, and Russia regarding the future of Russian gas transit via Ukraine after 2019 were held in Brussels on September 19, 2019.
Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič said the negotiations saw a positive and constructive atmosphere.
The next round of talks is scheduled for October 28.