Russian Gas Cutoffs to EU via Ukraine Not Expected – EU Energy Chief Oettinger

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The European Union is not expecting any interruptions in Russian gas deliveries to the European Union via Ukraine, but does not exclude the possibility, EU Energy Chief Gunther Oettinger said Thursday.

BERLIN, August 28 (RIA Novosti) – The European Union is not expecting any interruptions in Russian gas deliveries to the European Union via Ukraine, but does not exclude the possibility, EU Energy Chief Gunther Oettinger said Thursday.

“We will imagine the worst-case scenario in October. This scenario will explain what will happen if Russia halts gas deliveries or if Ukraine doesn’t transit it. I don’t expect this, but there is a possibility. We need to learn lessons from the 2006 and 2009 crises,” Oettinger said.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday that Moscow is prepared to fulfill its European gas delivery contracts, regardless of the political situation in transit nations, including Ukraine.

The same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia remains a reliable energy partner for Europe, and that he hopes Kiev will approach the forthcoming Russia-EU-Ukraine gas talks constructively.

The talks on energy issues involving the energy ministers of Ukraine, Russia and the European Union are expected to be held on September 6.

Previous trilateral talks took place in several rounds between April and mid-June, but did not yield major results. Kiev insisted on a dramatic discount for Russian gas and refused to clear its debt of $4.5 billion at the time. Russia suggested a price reduction, but Ukraine did not agree to the conditions of the offer.

Russian gas giant Gazprom switched to prepayment plan for gas deliveries to Ukraine on June 16. Moscow said it was ready to resume the discussion only once Ukraine pays off its debt, which the most recent estimates put at $5.3 billion.

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