There can be no winners in gas conflict – Zemliansky

Monday, September 29, 2014 - 15:30 (EEST) Section: Latest news

In case of a delay, the Ukrainian-Russian gas conflict will affect all members.
Director of Energy Programs of the World Economy and International Relations Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Valentyn Zemliansky said at a press conference on Monday, a Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“The problem is that all parties lose something and are tied to the conflict. There can be no winner in this situation. In other words, all lose, or all quietly hold the heating season,” he said.
According to Zemliansky, Russia understands that without support from the Ukrainian gas storages it will be difficult to ensure gas transit to Europe. Ukraine realizes that with the absence of Russian gas it will be very difficult to close the gas balance. And Europe is aware that possible emergence of problems with transit of Russian gas could lead to emergencies and an increase in gas prices on spot markets, which, respectively, will hit the European economy that began to emerge from the crisis of 2008-2009. “Naturally, the European industrial lobby is absolutely not interested in this,” he said.
The expert expressed hope that a compromise will be found at the next trilateral meeting, scheduled for this week.