The European Union considers it unnecessary to extend the agreement on the transportation of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine, European officials say. This agreement expires at the end of the year. At the end of January, Russian Vice Prime Minister Oleksandr Novak said that Russia is ready to negotiate with the European Union on the supply of natural gas.

For their part, Ukrainian officials said that they will not initiate negotiations with Russia regarding the extension of the agreement. In principle, the only ones who are ready to discuss the continuation of the agreement are the Russians.

“We are not interested in extending the agreement”

An EU analysis shows that countries along the Russian gas transit route, such as Austria, Italy and Slovakia, will be able to find alternatives, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said, according to Reuters.

“We are not interested in extending the trilateral gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires at the end of this year,” Simson said.

The European Commissioner said that there are alternative solutions for the supply of countries that still receive Russian gas.

Dependence on Russian gas reached 15%

Europe is trying to get rid of Russian gas imports after Russia caused an energy crisis and invaded Ukraine.

Currently, Europe receives about 12 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year through Ukraine, Reuters reports. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied Europe with 155 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

A recent European Commission report shows that the EU’s dependence on Russian gas has fallen from 45% in 2021 to just 15% in 2023.

Analysts believe that the termination of the transit agreement with Ukraine could lead to a slight increase in gas prices, but would not endanger the overall energy security of Europe.

EU countries have invested heavily in liquefied natural gas and renewable energy to replace Russian gas. In addition, the demand for gas decreased.

Photo source: Kyrylo Kukhmar / TASS / Profimedia