Ukraine has no plan to extend Russian gas transit deal
KYIV, March 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Sunday it does not plan to prolong a five-year deal with Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM on the transit of Russian gas to Europe or to sign another one.
Despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian gas is still being transported across the country to Europe, where countries are working to replace fuel originating in Russia with alternative supplies and renewable energy.
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Under an agreement agreed between Moscow and Kyiv in 2019, Russia pays Ukraine to export gas to Europe via its pipeline network. The deal expires at the end of December 2024.
"I can confirm that we have no plans to enter into any additional agreements or extend this (current) agreement," Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko said.
A stress test last year of Ukraine's gas transmission system and underground gas storage facilities proved that its gas system "can function without transit", he said in a statement.
Having enough pressurised gas in the pipelines is a prerequisite for guaranteeing gas supplies and the stress test was to ensure that Ukrainian consumers would still receive the fuel if there was no longer any flowing from Russia to Europe.
Moscow has said that Russia would use alternative routes and sea-borne liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the event that Ukraine did not extend the pipeline deal.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying in January that Moscow was ready to hold talks with the European Union on natural gas supplies.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Alexander Smith)