Naftogaz CEO: Contracts with Gazprom not worth paper used

"We still see a lot of people who say: Why not agree with Gazprom? Let's settle with them somehow… I always have the opposite question to them: How are you going to agree with them [Gazprom]. Are you going to sign a contract with them? I have been in this business for a long time, and I have, unfortunately, a very sad conclusion that any contract signed with Gazprom, if it’s not profitable for this company, is not worth the paper it was printed on," he said.

Read alsoCabinet willing to demonopolize Ukraine's gas marketAccording to Kobolev, Ukraine should negotiate with Europe, not Gazprom.

"We need European companies that will enter Ukraine, become customers of our GTS [gas transmission service], and fulfill their obligation to transfer gas transmission points to the eastern border of Ukraine. This will allow us becoming part of the European gas market," he added.

Read alsoGazprom sends 1.5 bcm of natural gas to Russian-occupied Donbas – Q3 reportAs UNIAN reported earlier, in 2009 the then-Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko signed a 10-year contract with Gazprom for the supply and transit of natural gas. According to the document, Ukraine was obliged every year, regardless of the level of consumption, to buy from the Russian company some 52 billion cubic meters of gas, and Gazprom - to transmit via the Ukrainian territory to Europe 110 billion cubic meters. The Russian company did not fulfill its obligations but at the same time, it demanded that Ukraine fulfill its obligations. This was the reason for Naftogaz in 2014 to file suit with the Stockholm Arbitration to protect corporate and national interests.