Russia won’t turn off gas to Ukraine and risk transit to EU – energy minister

(Interfax – Vladivostok, December 5, 2015)

Russia will in no circumstances turn off the gas supply to Ukraine and place the transit of gas to Europe at risk, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has said.

He said this in an interview with Vesti on Saturday with Sergey Brilyev, which was broadcast in the [Russian] far east.

“Ukraine is receiving gas from Russia. Currently, these relations are regulated for six months by a protocol, which was signed in October of this year. We live within the framework of these contracts which were signed in the period to the end of 2019, both for delivery of gas and gas transit. I think that, we need to continue this cooperation in the framework of these contracts, because we are a trustworthy gas supplier for European consumers. This trustworthiness has been affirmed by many decades of work,” the minister said.

Answering a question as to whether it would be worth turning off Ukraine’s gas “in reprisal” for the cutting off of electric power lines to Crimea, Novak replied: “In no circumstances is it permissible for us to put in doubt the reliability and security of our deliveries for our European consumers, above all.”