Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller has met with German Federal Government Commissioner for Gas Transit across Ukraine Georg Graf Waldersee to discuss issues related to the interaction between Gazprom and Ukraine in the gas sector from 2020 onward, the press service of the Russian gas monopoly has reported.

“The first issue concerns the settling of court disputes between Gazprom and the Ukrainian side. This would mean a mutual waiver of claims and termination of the court proceedings between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine regarding the contracts for Russian gas supplies and transit,” the statement reads.

According to Miller, the issue also concerns “the cancellation of the decision made by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine to fine Gazprom for allegedly abusing its monopolistic position in Ukraine’s gas transit market and the restoration of the company’s violated property rights in the country.”

The second issue, according to Gazprom, is Ukraine’s readiness for direct purchases of Russian gas starting from 2020 and the expected amounts thereof.

Gazprom also stated that in order to integrate the EU’s Third Energy Package into the national legislation of Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities “need to, inter alia, ensure the genuine independence of the national energy regulator and create an independent certified gas transmission operator.”

“If these efforts are not completed by January 1, 2020, Gazprom will be willing to extend the effective transit contract for the transitional period taking into account the current market conditions,” the report reads.

Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev said earlier that if Ukraine agrees to Russia’s proposal to “nullify mutual claims,” it will lose $22 billion.

© 2019 Ukrinform News

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