Gas transit deal with Russia to be signed, Zelensky says convinced

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is conviction an agreement on Russian gas transit via Ukraine to the EU will ultimately be signed.

"It seems to me that there is a very high probability of us signing a gas transit contract," Zelensky told the Right to Power panel show on 1+1 TV, adding that the gas issue was discussed both during negotiations with the four leaders of the Normandy format and vis-à-vis Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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"I'm seeing that everyone is set to sign the deal. So now the main issue is the period for which the contract will be signed ... Russia offered to sign for one year, while Ukraine offered a bit more, 10 years, then they offered us three years, then we proposed a compromise, 10 years, and I think that we will have a deal..." said Zelensky.

"Negotiations will continue. I have a feeling that I can say with confidence that we will sign the transit agreement," the president said.

At the same time, he assured that this agreement is a "purely economic issue", which is very important to Europe.

As UNIAN reported earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, following talks in the Normandy format in Paris on December 9, said there was a chance of signing a new transit agreement with the Russian Federation on better terms than Ukraine had before.

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The existing transit contract between Ukraine and Russia's Gazprom was concluded in 2009 for a period of 10 years.

After its completion (from 2020), the Russian monopoly intends to minimize the transit of its gas via the territory of Ukraine amid the finalization of construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bypassing Ukraine.