NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine considers the statements of PJSC Gazprom on the possibility of termination of gas supplies to European consumers as a preparation by Russia of another gas crisis in January and February 2017 in order to promote their own interests in relations with the EU, Naftogaz wrote in a statement published on the company website.
”The Russian side will try to blame Ukraine for the crisis, similar to 2006 and 2009. This is indicated by both the recent public statements of the Russian side and Gazprom`s reluctance to sign off a standard additional agreement with Naftogaz, which the parties have already signed three times before,” reads the statement.
Naftogaz believes that the volume of gas available to Ukraine is enough to ensure reliable gas supplies to Ukrainian consumers during the whole heating season.
”At the same time, the position is strange of Gazprom, which, on the one hand, insists on the purchase by Naftogaz of additional volumes of gas from Russia, and on the other – refuses to sign a standard additional agreement, which eliminates the risks of such purchases for the Ukrainian side,” Naftogaz wrote.
”The artificial crisis that is being provoked by Gazprom can be used by Russia as a means of pressure on the EU to promote the bypass pipelines or termination of the anti-monopoly investigation by the European Commission, which is now ongoing,” the Ukrainian company stated.
In order to prevent the possible crisis, the Ukrainian side turned to the European Commission with a proposal to urgently send a monitoring mission to the points of entry and exit of Russian gas to/from the Ukrainian gas transportation system (GTS), to provide for the independent monitoring.
Also, Naftogaz has once again drawn attention to Gazprom`s obligations to provide the contractual level of pressure on the Russian side of the GTS. Gazprom`s systematic failure to fulfill these obligations requires additional volumes of gas from Ukraine. The Ukrainian side hopes that these violations at the Russian side of the GTS be eliminated as a result of negotiations between the Russian side and the European Commission.
