MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/: Russia is already holding consultations with Germany on concluding a new contract for gas transit with Ukraine after 2024, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week.
"We are meeting with [Georg Graf] Waldersee, Germany’s representative [on gas transit through Ukraine]. We are already consulting on this situation," he said in response to a question on when negotiations on a new gas transit contract through Ukraine after 2024 will be held.
Novak did not comment on the issues he discussed with Waldersee during a meeting on the sidelines of the forum the day before, on October 14. "I don’t think that it is necessary to make our negotiations public. We are holding consultations," the Deputy Prime Minister said.
The agreement on the supply and transit of gas, which Russia and Ukraine signed in 2019, expires in 2024. Kiev made it clear that they said they would like to conclude a contract for the transit of gas through Ukraine immediately, without waiting for 2024, when the current contract with Gazprom ends. Ukraine believes that this will be a guarantee that transit will continue.
Kiev has repeatedly stated that the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project allegedly poses a threat to Ukraine's energy security. The Russian side has continually stressed that the project is commercial and is being implemented jointly with European partners.
The Russian Energy Week International Forum, which takes place in Moscow on October 13-15, serves as a platform for discussing the main challenges faced by the energy sector. The forum is being held to demonstrate the prospects of the Russian fuel and energy industry and unlock the potential of international cooperation in energy. This year the forum contains more than 30 business events, with heads of more than 200 companies from various sectors of the fuel and energy complex, from oil and gas, coal and electric power complexes, expected to participate.
